The Defiant Mate

Jay-la POV

“I just need 2 minutes of your time.” Jay-la pleaded with the future Alpha of her pack,
Alpha Nathan, of the Blood Moon Pack. She had a hand on his arm, He was frowning
down at that hand, then those deep dark blue eyes she had once drowned in glared at
her, at her touch in a deep disapproving manner.

They had been lovers casually for just over a year now, but it was all over now. He had
found his fated mate gifted to him by the moon goddess herself, and just like that, he
no longer had even a minute to spare for her.

Jay-la had loved him with all she had, her whole heart, even though she had known that
this day would come, she had always kept the relationship with him light, playful and
fun, so he would never know she was in love with him, he was not her fated mate nor
she his. She just wanted to wish him well and let him know that she was going to leave
and finish her law degree on campus full time, that she would be interning on her
breaks and so wouldn‟t be coming home for the next 2 years at least.

Jay-la just couldn‟t watch him with his fated mate, watch how happy they would be, how
in love, see them around making out and getting all hot and heavy, when it used to be
her and him, it would just cause her too much heartache. She would never tell him that
though.

As she stood there clinging to his arm pleading for just 2 minutes of his time, she was
trying to smile up at him brightly like she always did, his fated mate Sophia walked into
the room, glared at Jay-la and the way she was holding onto him. Sophia did not care
about the fact that Nathan and Jay-la had been friends since childhood, for 20 years
they had known each other, a fun friendship that she cherished.

Sophia‟s wolf snarled at the sight before her and Sophia yelled “get your filthy dirty
paws off of my mate.” she had stalked over and yanked Jay-la‟s hand off of his arm, and
yanked her away from Nathan, her other hand had stuck her, slapping her face so hard
that Jay-la staggered a step backwards, her hand touching her now stinging cheek.
Kora, Jay-la‟s wolf roared with rage inside of her mind, at the hurt and pain, the sheer
viciousness of the sudden attack, Kora had raced forward ripping to the surface before
Jay-la could stop her and with claws pushing out of her fingertips stuck Sophia, right
back, a full slap to her own face, all claws out, tearing through the skin on the future
Luna‟s face, leaving 3 bloody scratches down her face, the blood dripping off her onto
her clothes.

Sophia had screamed in pain from the attack on her own face, clutching at her face with
both hands, her eyes turned to her mate as tears spilled down her bloody face. Jay-la
knew she would heal and quickly, she had a wolf.

Nathan‟s blue eyes had widened at the sight of his mate‟s injury. He reached out for his
mate and cradled her in his arms, holding her to his chest to comfort her. His blue eyes
turned on Jay-la, they were so filled with rage, his wolf right there with him. He roared in
anger at the pain inflicted on his mate by her: “Leave this pack. Don‟t you ever come
back.”

Jay-la stared at him horrified by his words, tears brimming in her green eyes, it was
treason to attack the Luna or Alpha or even the future Luna or Alpha of your pack and
her wolf had just done that, attacked the future Luna with claws out. She turned and
hurried out of his office. If she stayed a minute longer she would only incur further
punishment or perhaps death.

Kora whined in distress and pain at leaving him, leaving their home, leaving their family.
She knew, as did Jay-la, they would never be allowed to come home again. If he had
been the actual Alpha, she would have just been banished and marked as a rogue with
no where to go.

Jay-la‟s steps quickened as she headed out the packhouse front door, till she was
running with tears streaming down her face, she headed for her car. She didn‟t dare stay
a minute longer. What if he changed his mind, what if his mate changed his mind on her
punishment, and wanted her beaten and imprisoned or dead.

There was no time to say goodbye to her family, her mum, dad or her older brother. She
just ran tears streaming and headed for her car. She heard the future Beta of the pack
Jackson call out after her “Jay-la what‟s wrong?” There was concern in his voice, but she
didn‟t stop to tell him, just got in the car and drove away as fast as she could to get off
pack territory, before worse was to come.

At least he hadn‟t had the power to demote her to a worthless rogue on the spot. Her
only blessing at the time. It could still happen though. His father, Alpha Blaine, would
choose whether or not that was still to come, he would hear Sophia and Nathan‟s side
of the story and judge her from it.

„Why?‟ Jay-la asked her wolf Kora, sobs wracking her as she drove away back to the
university she had spent the past 2 years studying at. Lucky for her, she lived on campus
and had a dorm to retreat to, somewhere to go. Now she couldn‟t return to her pack.

„Protect Pup.‟ Kora howled in pain, Jay-la‟s tears burned even more, her heart ached so
much she didn‟t know if she could endure it. A baby. His baby. And he had just tossed
her away like garbage and forbidden her to return. The pain in her chest and inside of
Kora felt as though it was ripping them apart, but they had to endure it, survive it for
their pup.

Chapter 1

She stared at the letter in her hand, her hand was shaking so badly as she looked down
at it, it had been 6 long years since she had fled the Blood Moon Pack and now here she
stood looking at an envelope with her pack‟s seal on it.

His seal.

She lifted her eyes from the envelope to the beautiful boy playing with his sisters on the
floor of the living room of her apartment. This is not happening. It can‟t be.

They had somehow survived and moved on with their lives, were living peacefully well
away from the pack. She had never returned, just like he‟d told her. To this day, she was
still somehow a member of the Blood Moon Pack. By the grace of the goddess Alpha
Blaine had never severed her from the pack, she was still tied to it in some small way.
Her 3 children were playing and rough housing with each other. Jay-la had just gotten
home from the law firm Stanton & Co, where she worked, in the human world, as far
away from wolfen society as she could get. Had stayed away even when she had
desperately needed her family, learned to live alone, how to be strong for her children,
made friends in the human world, created a somewhat human family attachment to help
ease her pain and loneliness.

Her son, so handsome and strong willed, filled with determination and courage. Just like
his father, had blonde tussled hair and naturally tanned skin, he was so beautiful and full
of life. He looked up at her with his brilliant green eyes, her eyes, it was the only thing
he had gotten from her, everything else was from his father, a man who hated her.

The girls also had blonde hair and green eyes, she‟d let their hair grow long, it was wavy
like hers but not dark brown like hers, their temperament was much softer than her son,
he was bigger and stronger and was their protector at all times, though he was only
born 3 minutes earlier, little Nate was a good 2 inches taller than his identical twin
sisters Lilly and Rosalie, most people thought he was their older brother about a year
apart and Jay-la did not disillusion them.

She stepped into her kitchen, leaving them to play as they were, her eyes turning to the
envelope in her hand, Kora too, was quiet in her mind, not certain what was about to
happen to them or their lives. She could feel concern ebbing off of Kora, it was filtering
down into her too.

She opened the letter and read it:

„Jay-la Freeman,

You have been officially recalled back to Blood Moon Pack.

You will respond to this letter within 7 days and let it be known the day of your return.

Alpha Nathan – Blood Moon Pack‟

How he had found her she did not know, but she was not going back. Taking a match
she lit the gas stove and set the letter and its envelope on fire and watched it burn to
ash. Defying him was not something that she should do, but she could not go back, not
ever.

Turning to her mobile phone, Jay-la started looking at listings for a new place to live,
she had to move and quickly.

It took 4 days to find a place that was available right away. It was not close to her office
though, she now had a commute. Jay-la paid out the lease on this current apartment, as
she was breaking it, and moved her and her children as fast as she could, leaving her
lovely beach front apartment for one further in the city, it was larger and the price was
the same, it had more room for the kids to play. It had a door man and night security, so
at least she wasn‟t about to be surprised or ambushed.

Jay-la moved the children to a new school as well. She had never truly hidden herself,
just stayed away at all cost. Even Kora had to suffer, never truly getting the freedom she
so desired, hardly ever got the chance to run free. Living in this human city took a toll
on her. It was like being punished every day for one tiny crime.

1 mistake to protect her unborn pup‟s and they had suffered for it. That suffering had
made them both stronger willed, and no more did they let their heart decide anything,
only logic and reality of a situation weighed in. No wolves were allowed in their world
either, not anymore.

Stanton & Co Law Firm had been home to them since passing the Bar Exam. She had
Lauren and Tony, her most trusted human friends, Lauren had delivered her pups, their
unexpected arrival during a lunch meeting with Tony, whose wife had been visiting. She
was a Doctor, thank goodness, all 3 of them had been birthed in his office at the
university. She recalled crying after they had come, having no help to raise them. She
told Tony and Lauren she had no family and their father didn‟t care, which was true.
They had taken pity on her, a 20-year-old with triplets and no family to help her out.

They had been there for her, so much so she now looked at them as her surrogate
family, a second mum and dad, not that she actually called them that.

No one knew what she was, who her children‟s father was, those things were still a
secret she would take to her grave, humans had no idea about wolfen society and she
was not allowed to let them in on the knowledge either. Wolfen society law.
The next official letter arrived at her residence 10 days after she moved. A shiver ran
through her, moving had not worked. She returned it to sender, „not at this address‟ and
prayed to the goddess that would be the end of it.

2 weeks later another letter came. Again she returned it to sender, unopened and with
the same message „not at this address‟ In the human world this would have been
enough for them to get the message that the person they were looking for did not live
at the address they had. Again she prayed to the goddess that let this be the end of it,
she couldn‟t go back. She could never return, he had ordered her as much.

Chapter 2

Nathan POV

In his hand was the second returned official letter he had sent to bring her back to the
pack. The first had not been returned, he knew she would have opened it, curiosity
would have gotten the better of her, if she had not felt the responsibility to answer her
Alpha‟s letter.

Nathan knew that they had not parted on good terms but it was time that Jay-la
returned home. He had seen her on TV by mere chance, standing outside the front of a
court house speaking to the press about the case she had just won for a client she was
representing in a high profile divorce case.

6 long years had passed and she seemed bright, strong and filled with confidence, she
had looked amazing dressed to kill in that dark blue skirt that was tight all the way down
to her knees and a soft cream blouse which had clung to her body in the breeze, her
bright green eyes had seemed so full of life, her comments to the press were straight to
the point, no non-sense and she didn‟t answer anything torrid or gossipy.

Life away from the pack seemed to suit her. His chest had ached a little, knowing he was
the reason why she was out there and not here.

He and Havoc, his wolf, had watched her with great interest. She had always wanted to
be a lawyer. Work in the packs legal department, not much cause for divorce lawyers
with in wolfen society, but contract law was rife and if he remembered correctly that was
what she was specialising in, while studying. They had watched from the lounge in the
common room, his Beta – Jackson, Gamma – Stephen and Delta – Ethan had all also
seen her on the TV that night, as all 4 of them had been having a drink and hunting for
a movie to watch to wind down after a long day, Jackson had been in-charge of the
remote and was flicking through the channels where her beautiful face had popped up
on the screen, her name and law firm were rolling across the bottom of the screen it was
a recap of the news of the day in the human world.

None of them had seen her since that day, the day he had forced her to leave. She had
left and never come back, just as he had ordered her to. Looking at her beautiful face,
she had grown into a very beautiful young woman, just 26 now. Listening to her voice
he had felt a pang of regret and now realised he missed his long-time friend, they‟d
grown up together, trained together and been lovers once. Now there was nothing and
she was gone.

„Bring her home‟ havoc had growled at him, and had been relentless in the days that
followed to bring her home, just wouldn‟t shut up about it and so he had agreed with
his wolf, and made the decision that it was time to bring her home to the pack where
she belonged. So he had sent the first official letter to her after Jackson had tracked her
down. It hadn‟t been that hard, less than a day, clearly she wasn‟t hiding just staying
away.

Now he sat in his office over a month later annoyed and verging on angry. She had
ignored the first letter, or so he thought, there was a possibility she had not gotten it,
but he didn‟t think that was it, Jackson would not have made a mistake, they had all
grown up together and she had been just as good a friend with him as she had been
with Nathan.

Actually, Jackson had been really pissed off about her sudden leaving by Nathan‟s order.

That day, Nathan had been angered and so had Havoc and they had responded without
much thought. That fateful day he‟d sent her away, acted solely on instinct, but had not
given it much thought since that day either. Not til he had seen her on the TV.

Sophia had been really pissed off that she had not been stripped of rank and turned
from the pack by his father Alpha Blaine, at the time. She had demanded that Jay-la be
made a rogue for the insult, but his father had simply stated „No, its inappropriate under
the circumstances.‟ those circumstances being he knew that Jay-la and Nathan had been
sleeping together for just over a year, and he felt there was more to it, that Sophia had
probably over reacted.

Due to the move she had made that week the letter should have arrived, it was possible
that she hadn‟t received it, but there was also the possibility that she had read it and
ignored it, moved to avoid him.

Turning the letter over in his hand he looked at his Beta “So this is how she‟s going to
play is it.”

“You did order her to leave and never come back” Jackson replied simply, “if she didn‟t
get the first letter and returned the other 2 perhaps she doesn‟t know the content.” he
was leaning casually against the wall, He appeared board.

Nathan returned his attention to the envelope and stared at it for a long time trying to
decide a course of action. He nodded to himself after several minutes of contemplation,
“Alright, let‟s make it really official. Something she can‟t just ignore without the threat of
retrieval.” His eyes moved to his Beta.

Jackson sighed heavily and turned those grey eyes on him, a frown on his face “you sure
boss…you want to do that?”

“Yes” Nathan replied firmly. “send it to her law firm, and make it to be signed for, so we
know she got it.” His mouth quirked in a smug smile, „Let‟s see you ignore me now little
wolf‟ he thought „I can play as well as you can, only you can‟t ignore me. I am your
Alpha and you will do as I command‟

Chapter 3

Jay-la POV
Eric Stanton, the CEO of Stanton & Co Law Firm, stood in front of her desk, tapping a
black envelope in one hand while he waited patiently for her to end the call she was on.
He would not rush her, it was one of her clients.

The minute she hung up the phone he stated “How is it you know the Browning
Corporation? and why is it you have not brought them in as a client?” He sounded a
little annoyed with her, probably ticked off she had not mentioned her affiliation with
the company he was talking about.

But all she could feel the minute he mentioned the Browning Corporation was how hard
her heart was hammering inside her chest. Her eyes moved to the Black envelope in his
hand. She could see the white lettering on it. It couldn‟t be. „No‟ Kora echoed her
thoughts.

Those envelopes were reserved for serious offences against the pack. It‟s an official
notification.

Eric had absolutely no idea what he had in his hands. All he knew was that on the back
was the official human world pack company seal. To him it was just a multi million dollar
corporation, one of whom was writing to one of his lawyers by name.

“How did you get that?” she asked, trying not to show Eric how nervous she actually
was.

“The head of the mail room had to sign for it. He alerted me to the corporation it came
from.” he shrugged “standard policy”

Jay-la stood up to take it from him, but he stopped her “Again, How do you know this
corporation? Are they trying to head hunt you?” he frowned down at her.

“No they are not.” Jay-la shook her head “ Please may I have it.”

“Explain yourself first.” Eric stated in a flat, no-non-sense tone.

“Fine…, I grew up within the Browning Corporation. My family still works for them. I
however was tossed out at 20” she said trying to ignore the ache that suddenly hit her
chest. She always missed home.
Eric stared at her. His light grey eyes focused solely on her green ones quite intently.
She could tell that he was trying to decide if she was speaking the truth. He was again
tapping the envelope in his hand. Then he simply tore it open right before her eyes,
Clearly having decided not to believe her.

Jay-la prayed to the goddess that it was not worded in Wolfen. That the Alpha had
thought things through and figured that this letter might end up in the hands of a
human.

Her whole body froze as he read the letter out aloud.

„Jay-la Freeman,

You have 3 days to respond to this letter.

You will return to Browning Corporation within 7 days

Or I will have you brought in

Nathan Browning, CEO Browning Corporation‟

Eric up ended the envelope and Jay-la saw a long glass vial with a cork stopper fall into
his hand, inside the vial was a single purple wolfs-bane flower. It meant nothing to Eric.
He held it up and turned it over and around, trying to make sense of it, frowning at it
the whole time.

Jay-la‟s heart however, sank. This letter was a threat that the new Alpha, her once long-
time childhood friend and lover, would use brute force, by any means necessary to bring
her in if she did not comply with his request.

What he even wanted of her she had no idea. The original letter had no topic, just a
demand to come home more or less. Not that she wanted that. She had left at his order
and she did not wish to return. The Luna already hated her – perhaps he had just taken
over as Alpha, now Sophia and he could finally punish her and officially turn her rogue.
Was he so cruel that he wanted to do it in person? His Luna probably still harboured a
grudge and he would do anything for her. They probably wanted to see her in pain as
she was severed from the pack.
Jay-la plucked the letter from Eric‟s hand and the glass vial as well, and read it for
herself. Kora whined at her also now worried that if they did go back they could not take
the triplets with them, they would have to find someone to watch them and then hope
and pray to the goddess that banishment to a rogue status was all this was about, and
once it was done she could leave and return to her life here in the human world.

The other thoughts going through her mind were killing her. What if the Luna wanted to
torture her, imprison her or worse kill her, leaving her children as orphans in the human
world, fear was creeping inside of her, but she had to push it down.

No, she could leave them with Tony and Lauren even though they have no knowledge
of Wolfen Society and if the worst happens she knew they would take them in and raise
them. Their first shift would terrify both them and the children probably, but what else
could she do. She could not leave them to her real parents. The Luna would surely kill
them the minute she figured out they were the Alpha‟s bastard children. She wouldn‟t
want any competition for the heir to the pack raring up from out of no where, and if
they were given to her parents it wouldn‟t take long for Alpha Nathan to scent out his
own flesh and blood, his wolf would smell them the minute they hit pack territory. His
Luna would be out to get rid of them at her earliest convenience,

Eric drew her attention back to the present by tapping her on the shoulder. “What is that
all about?”

“I don‟t know.” Jay-la shrugged in all honesty. “I‟ve been gone 6 years Eric. You hired me
right out of University. Have I not been here the whole time?”

“Hmm,” he nodded. “I don‟t want to lose you Jay-la, Why don‟t you call the office
number, it‟s right there on the bottom, you can try to bring them in as a client.”

Ha, that is never going to happen, she thought to herself, you my dear Eric have no idea
who he really is, or what he can do, and you don‟t want to either. “I doubt I would be
able to. To be completely honest with you, the man hates me.”

“So why the demand for you to return?”

“perhaps…” she seriously thought about it. Other than punishment for attacking his
Luna, only one other thing stood out to her. The pack had paid for her law degree, she
was supposed to return and work in the packs legal department, be a productive
member of their society, which she had not done. At his order. “I guess I own them law
school fees. The Browning Corporation paid my tuition, and I was supposed to work for
them right out of university, but seeing as I was tossed away 2 years into the degree and
told never to go back, I never did.”

“And they still paid your tuition?” he asked, sounding confused.

“Yes, the CEO at the time was Blaine Browning, I guess he did. His son Nathan is now the
CEO and he was the one who tossed me out. Perhaps Blaine thought I would return or
something.”

Eric nodded “Do you have the money to pay it back?”

Jay-la sighed “not all of it, but about half I guess.” if it was just a case of we want our
money back, she could give them half and then organise a payment plan, Heck she
could draw up the contract herself and make sure it was to her benefit and add and iron
clad clause that he leave her alone forever afterwards. Even put in a clause that the
minute the debt was paid she would find another pack to take her in, solving the issue
of attachment to them as well.

The real question was, could she do all of this without involving her children, or having
him find out about them, he wouldn‟t think they were his, or at least she doubted it; not
unless he laid eyes on them, and could she find a pack that wouldn‟t use them as
leverage if they found out whose children they actually were, to many what if‟s at this
point.

“I could write you a contract and give you the rest. You can pay it back later, Jay-la.
Would that be an option for you?”

Jay-la smiled at him, she knew why he was offering, the last divorce case she had
worked on and won had just brought the company a whopping 5 million dollars of
profit. The client had been so happy he had even referred his sister for her prenup
before she was to get married next year. Jay-la was currently Gold to this law firm, she
was bringing in the dollars. She was professional, methodical and always read the fine
print, she never laxed in her duties and she knew how to play hardball. What she
couldn‟t win she would take to mediation and work out compromises that suited
everyone, regardless of how long that took. She never gave up, a dog with a bone she‟d
once been described as, ha they had no idea how true it was.

“No, its fine Eric, once the settlement from my last case is in and you pay me, I‟ll have
the rest of it.”

He nodded, seemingly pleased “I‟ll get that to you A.S.A.P then.”

“I‟d appreciate that,” Jay-la said in all honesty, and watched him leave her office finally.

She sagged into her leather chair behind her desk, thankful for the plushness, glad she
had shelled out $2500 for it, she put her head down on the desk and muttered “3 days”
she could run. Three days was plenty of time to sever the connection on her end from
her pack and run the hell away. „ The minute we do, he will know we‟re running‟. Kora
piped up „it‟ll anger him even more‟.

„I know that Kora, but there is a chance he just won‟t care right. What else can we do?‟

Kora huffed, she too, it seemed needed time to think it through. Surely between the two
of them they could come up with a plan.

Or they had 3 days to come up with the courage to make a phone call that she never
wanted to make, to hear his voice, so filled with anger and hatred for the woman who
dared cause harm to his Mate and now Luna.

There would be no softness, no playfulness, no seductive undertones of the past, where

he‟d once teased and seduced her with his soft sexy voice during their nights of
pleasure, nights she longed to forget, but somehow still haunted her dreams, nights that
were burnt into her very soul, so much so that she and Kora were still plagued with
dreams of him on occasion, usually with the full moon.

Though she and Kora had learned to let go of him, they would both forever be bound to
him by the pups they shared. Pups he had no knowledge of, pups she wanted to keep
hidden, they were all she and Kora had left of their old life.

Tim was no match in bed compared to her Alpha, but how could he be? He was human
after all, she sighed and closed her eyes… 3 days…
Chapter 4

Nathan POV

The woman was completely infuriating. Today was the deadline, the 3rd day since her
company had signed for the letter. Why had she not called? Was she so stupid that she
thought he wouldn‟t follow through? It was getting late. He knew there was a time zone
difference of 3 hours, so he had to give her till 5pm her time, which was 8pm his time,
he looked at his watch. It was a quarter to 8 now. She wasn‟t going to call, she was
going to force his hand.

Jackson was leaning casually on the wall next to his desk, his regular haunt, and was
watching him pace back and forth behind his desk “She‟ll call” he stated simply,
seemingly knowing what he was thinking. “Its Jay-la,”

“Time‟s running out”. He snapped. If she didn‟t call, he would have to follow through
even if he didn‟t want to. Havoc was annoyed with him because of the official order and
the threat it contained, and was currently not speaking with him over it. His wolf had
seemed to have changed lately.

His irritation at her lack of response was driving anger into him by the minute. Havoc,
though not speaking to him, was prowling around inside his mind. Nathan didn‟t believe
she was going to call, she had a new life away from the pack, away from them, away
from him. If he was totally honest with himself, he had half expected her to sever ties
with the pack from her end and run, making him physically hunt her down. Which he
would have, Havoc did love a good hunt and she was something he had enjoyed
chasing once upon a time. Yet she hadn‟t done so. Didn‟t mean that she wouldn‟t in the
next 10 minutes.

The door to his office opened and, in strolled his father Blaine, he looked at Nathan
pacing around, at Jackson watching him, felt the atmosphere in the room and sighed
“what‟s going on, son?”

“Jay-la, I gave her 3 days to contact and 7 days to come in.” he snapped, not really
wanting to explain himself, he no longer had too, he‟d been the Alpha for the past 2
years now. It was more of a courtesy comment out of respect for him being his father
and former Alpha.

“You didn‟t send the black envelope, did you son?” Blaine sounded annoyed with him.

“Yes” was all he said. He watched as his father‟s blue eyes turned to focus on Jackson,
his Beta, for confirmation, as though he thought his son was lying to him. When Jackson
nodded his head, anger rolled off the former Alpha.

“Why on this goddess-gifted earth we‟re standing on, would you do that?” both his
hand were in his hair pulling at it in what appeared to be utter frustration.

Now he felt like he had to explain “She wouldn‟t come home, when I requested politely.
Rejected all requests…Bloody 3 of them she ignored. HOW DARE SHE!” he yelled the last
part. He couldn‟t help himself. He was the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, and she was
still a member of this pack, his pack and therefore his to command and order as he saw
fit and she dared to ignore him. Actually, she actively defied him, when he had reached
out an olive branch and told her to come home.

His fists balled and he slammed one down on the corner of his desk to let out his
frustration at her damned defiance. She would never have even thought of so much as
saying no to him, once upon a time, it had always been yes, to anything he had asked
her to do, along with a sweet smile and a playful wink.

But not now, it seemed. She has changed over the years. He was ready to explode his
rage into the room. It wouldn‟t take much glancing at his watch 2 minutes.

Jackson‟s phone rang while Nathan was glaring at his office phone. Ring damn it he
willed it. The sound of Jackson‟s phone was what pushed him over the edge. How dare
anyone interrupt him during this time! He heard Jackson answer his phone in that lazy,
laid back tone that he hated so much, “Hello, Beta Jackson speaking.”

His anger ripped out of him and he yelled “Send the worst of the worst and drag her ass
home.” both his fists hit his desk, he heard it c***k, didn‟t care.

Jackson stopped talking and stared right at him. He could feel his father‟s eyes on him
as well. Jackson‟s eyes returned to his phone and he shook his head and sighed heavily
“Well Alpha, that went well.” Then his hard grey eyes were staring at him, practically
staring him down. If he was spoiling for a fight. He could have one, the look was damn
near a challenge. His next words shocked him “that was Jay-la, she heard what you said,
and has hung up. All I got was a gasp filled with fear.”

Now it was Nathan‟s turn to run his hands through his hair and pull at it in frustration,
and it dawned on him he was just like his father in so many ways. He closed his eyes.
“Call her back, right now.” he demanded, trying not to kick the nearest thing to him.

Havoc was fuming inside him, „Look what you did now.‟

„I know‟ Nathan muttered back to his wolf „I‟ll fix it‟.

„you‟d better‟ came an angry snarl

Nathan stood watching as Jackson hit the number to call her back. Only to realise on the
phone it actually stated Jay-la, that bastard had her number all this time. Oh he was
going to get punched in the face after this was over. They could have called her and he
wouldn‟t have exploded and said what he had said.

Why did she have to wait so long, to the very last minute of the deadline? He was not
exactly known for his patience nowadays. His father was still in the room also waiting for
the outcome. He noted, though he seemed more curious about his son‟s reaction to the
situation than he should be, he was standing by the door looking right at Nathan with a
raised eyebrow and open curiosity on his face. He glared at his father and snapped
“What?”

“Son you seem awfully upset about 1 little she-wolf! That you ordered away years
ago…What‟s going on exactly? Why are you insisting on bringing her back now? All of a
sudden.”

That is my business, Nathan thought. He could do as he pleased, but he also knew that
his father would push the subject harder and harder till he got an answer. He was the
former Alpha and had the right to ask the question and receive and answer, he still had
rights to know what was going on, he was still the Alpha in-charge when Nathan was
away from the pack for business or Alpha Council or when he was off assisting an allied
pack who was under attack and requesting assistance.
Nathan turned his attention back to his Beta. “ She didn‟t pick up”. He was already trying
again, knew better than to just call once. “ That‟s odd, the line can‟t be connected now”
he stated, frowning down at his phone.

“just bloody great.” Nathan snapped, his anger backing up again, only this time he was
angry with himself. He knew that he was responsible for her not picking up. She had
heard him yell and reacted on instinct „probably going to run‟. Havoc sounded flat out
annoyed with him. Nathan agreed with his wolf.

“Jackson, make arrangements. Who do you know out there?”

“A couple of wolves, though retrieval is not really their thing, but money that will work
for them.”

“Do it, she‟s going to run.” Nathan nodded “Quickly.”

His father sighed heavily at him, gaining his attention. “I‟d go yourself son, it would be
better that way.”

“She‟ll be long gone before me or any of my men can get there.” and he knew it to be
true, they‟d have to fly out and even with their private pack plane it would still take too
long.

“Hmm, still…” his father seemed oddly calm for the situation at hand.

Nathan didn‟t think much of it, dismissed it altogether. Who knew what his father
thought on any given day. Retirement had changed him. He appeared more laid back
nowadays. His reactions were more thoughtful on everything. When Nathan had
questioned him about it a year ago, Blaine had shrugged and told him „you have to deal
with all the stress now son, I get to spend time with my Mate. A lot of time.‟ and he‟d
grinned like a school boy „if you know what I mean,‟

Nathan had understood his meaning alright, the whole pack understood, his parents
now not in charge all the time, seemed to have taken more interest in mating than
anything else, anywhere and everywhere, for that matter, Half the pack had seen them
and their wolves mating out in the woods in their wolf form and human, it had become
a common occurrence especially on the full moon nights.
He watched as his father strolled out of his office “I wonder where my pretty is right
now” he murmured to himself and was off to find her, Nathan prayed she was in their
room and he wasn‟t going to have to walk in on them somewhere in the pack house, he
shook his head they seemed to have turned back time to when they were horny
teenagers.

Chapter 5
Jay-la POV

It had taken all her courage to call, she had already decided to call Beta Jackson‟s
number, not the packhouse number, she just couldn‟t bare talking to him at this point. It
had been 6 long years and she still could see in her mind‟s eye, the anger in his eyes,
feel the order he‟d driven into her, pain tinged her chest and she rubbed it absently
trying to make it go away.

She had spent the day staring at the number, it was almost 5pm. The deadline was
approaching. Tony and Lauren had agreed to take the triplets for a few days while she
went away on a business trip „thank the goddess for them,‟ she sent a blessing to the
goddess for them. They may be human but they were a goddess sent gift to her as far
as she was concerned.

Sitting in her office chair, she dialled Jackson‟s number from the bottom of the letter,
Jackson‟s smooth soft voice practically purred down the line at her, calm and collected,
not a care in the world it seemed. She knew differently having grown up with him. That
was just how he portrayed himself.

The anger and rage she heard from Alpha Nathan as he yelled out an order, she had
never thought he would ever be capable of directing towards her „Send the worst of the
worst‟ fear had streaked through her right to the core of her being. Kora whimpered at
this too, a fearful gasp escaped her lips and she disconnected the line instantly. Stared
down at her mobile phone in horror as every fibre in her body screamed at her to run
and run now and never look back. Kora did not argue with her at all.

He was still so angry with her, so much anger that it felt more like he completely and
utterly hated her, how could he after their life-long friendship and love affair, could he
just ignore 20 years of friendship and turn on her so easily.
Just 1 slap and that was it. Everything they‟d shared gone just like that. For him, only his
Luna mattered to him. Not his friendships, not the one with her anyway.

She stared at her phone as it rang. She saw the number knew it was Jackson and hit the
reject call button. She stood and balled her fists, she was nothing to him after
everything, just nothing. Jay-la slammed her fist down onto the phone with all her wolf
strength, the phone shattered and shards went flying everywhere. „time to go‟ she
muttered more to herself than anything. She picked up her brief case and headed home.

She would tell her pups they were going on vacation and get on the first flight out of
the country. They all had passports, had been overseas a few times on vacation,
Singapore was nice and hardly ever saw wolves there. That could be an option. She
would have to find a place that was more suited to Kora. She had suffered a lot not
being able to shift so much due to living in the city all the time and staying away from
anything Wolfen Society and rogue territory was out of the question to run in. That was
too dangerous, no matter how fast Kora was, it was not a risk either of them were willing
to take up, as it could leave they pups as orphans in the human world.

It was a long drive home from the office, over an hour now, that she had moved further
away. The commute meant dealing with peak hour traffic. The only thing in her favour
right this minute was that she was on the other side of the country from him, her Alpha.
So it would give her time to pack and get away, at least 10 to 12 hours, he‟d have to
book his men on a flight and organise transport.

Jay-la would be long gone by then, this was it, no going back now. She would have to
completely sever ties with the pack this time, but she would wait to do it until they were
at the airport, too many scents for him to track at an airport and once she went rogue,
he would no longer be able to track that particular scent that belonged to his pack, a
scent that even now he could use to track her.

„it‟s going to hurt us‟

„I know, but what else can we do…the worst of the worst Kora, that means the men
coming, whoever he sends can do whatever they want to us with no repercussions.‟

she felt Kora shudder with disgust herself „I‟ll kill any one that thinks they can touch us
jay-la.‟
„I know we‟ll try, but…‟ they both knew they would be out numbered most likely, and
though she had trained all her life and still did once a week, the men that would be
coming would likely be twice her size and train every day. They would have a sick
sadistic side where pain was what they enjoyed inflicting, her fighting back would only
incite them even more.

Jay-la parked her car outside the front of the building instead of in the secure car park.
She was only going to be home long enough to pack each of them a suitcase and grab
their passports, an hour tops, hopefully even less than that.

She got out of the car, lost in her thoughts of getting away and where to go, once she
was a rogue there was no turning back, so choosing a place that had no wolves was
probably a good idea, so a country that had no natural wolf population would be best.
Other shifters wouldn‟t bother her as long as she was of no threat to them.

Somewhere out of the way, somewhere small, somewhere with a nice forest for Kora
and her children when they grew up and could shift and run freely, she could use her
degree to get a job. Contract law was always in demand if she couldn‟t pick up divorce
law, and seeing as she spoke 3 languages, any of those countries would be good. So,
even if not Law, she could go for a translator job with any corporation. That would be an
advantage.

The cloth that covered her mouth as suddenly as the fierce grip around her waist as she
was yanked backwards against a hard body startled her, so in her thoughts was she that
she hadn‟t seen, heard or smelled anything out of the ordinary. The sharp intake of her
breath when she‟d been startled meant the chloroform had been in haled deeply,
making her fuzzy around the edges of her vision. Kora snarled instantly in her mind and
as her claws were ripping from Jay-la‟s finger tips ready to fight, there was a sharp sting
to the left side of her neck and burning like fire started flooding through her into her
veins, “ No” she tried to scream, but already the darkness was rushing at her, enveloping
her. Her worst fear now coming true, her last thought before the darkness claimed her
completely „my babies, I‟m sorry.‟

Her eyes were still heavy, she was so tired, and trying to open her eyes felt like the
hardest thing in the world to do. It took several minutes before she could hold them
open and focus on her surroundings. She appeared to be lying down on her right side,
barely able to move, she could feel her arms bound behind her, „Kora‟ she tried reaching
for her wolf, got nothing, couldn‟t feel her at all, couldn‟t even sense her the tiniest bit.

Drugged with wolfs-bane, no access to her wolf and the burning sensation coming from
her wrists meant silver cuffs, she was now as helpless as a human. There was no help for
her at this point in time. She took a deep breath, tried to take in the situation. She was
lying on what appeared to be the floor of a moving van, she was still wearing her
clothes and there was no pain between her legs to say she had been assaulted while
unconscious. Thank the goddess for that, not that she wanted to be awake for it. But
how long she had been out, a few hours, the night, 24hours or more, she had no idea.

The triplets had been with their nanny. How long would she wait to call the police and
report her missing? Would she stay with the children the whole time or leave them? To
many what if‟s. Don‟t think about it, Suzzy is a great nanny. We pay her well, treat her
with respect and she loves the triplets, she‟ll stay with them. Jay-la told herself to try and
keep herself calm. She had to remain calm. It was a must to survive and find an
opportunity to get away.

It was the middle of the week, if she didn‟t come home and then didn‟t show up for
work, someone would call the police and report her missing. The human police might
not have much influence in the Wolfen Society, but wolves still had to placate them
occasionally.

A foot touched her chest and pushed her onto her back. “Ah you‟re awake I see” a
gravelly male voice said to her, amusement lacing every word “What did you do, I
wonder,” he chuckled at her.

Jay-la stared up at him, it was dark inside the van but she had no idea if it was dark
outside or if the van was designed this way so no one could see in. She was only
wearing a skirt and blouse, nothing that this wolf would have trouble removing to have
his way with her. Her only defence now was her brains and her stiletto‟s.

“ Please” she whispered, “I have children”. She was hoping to appeal to his family nature.
Wolves were naturally paternal creatures, their mates and offspring meant everything to
them, they would die without a thought to protect them. “3 children, please let me go.”
He frowned down at her for a full minute, then shrugged “sorry, paid already”. His voice
sounded devoid of emotion all of a sudden, as though he had to cut himself off from his
emotions to ignore her pleas.

“ They‟re just 5, and no dad.” she pleaded with him,

Again. He frowned, and his eyes were just staring down at her. He was troubled and she
knew it, it was working, then he shrugged “not my problem lady.” though he had
appeared to be concerned maybe he just wasn‟t or the money was too good to pass up.

Jay-la struggled to a sitting position. He just watched her wearily, she appeared of no
real threat, still no wolf and for how long she had no idea, bound with silver handcuffs
meant till they took them off probably, so until she reached her destination in all
likelihood. She may look helpless, and have no wolf, but her father was a high-ranking
worrier and he had trained her since she was 5 years old, always worried that his
precious princess would come to harm, and he had wanted to make sure she could
defend herself, trained her everyday without wolf, till Kora had come out at 16, so if this
man wanted a fight she was going to give him one.

This was the day her dad had warned her about, the day he had drilled her for. She
would do what her father taught her to do, fight and never give up, ignore the pain best
you can and fight with every tool you have, whether it be whit, charm, seduction or even
a tiny sliver of wood, anything at all, just got to throw them off guard, to get the
advantage.

The van started to slow down, the man glanced away from her and she took the
opportunity to push herself up onto her knees and then force herself to her feet using
the van wall for balance and assistance. When he looked back at her, Jay-la shoved
herself off the wall with one foot and slammed her body into his, catching him off guard
completely, just like father taught her. She heard his head hit the other wall of the van
with a c***k so loud she had probably caused him a concussion, a growl elicited from his
wolf as she struggled to pull herself back onto her feet away from him, but she lost her
balance and fell backwards.

He was up quick and yelling “What the f**k” as he reached for her, she kicked him hard
with both feet and felt one of her stiletto‟s heels sink into his flesh with a sickening
sucking sound, right into his abdomen. Her foot was suddenly wet with warm liquid, his
blood was running down her foot from the wound she‟d inflicted on him. The scream of
pain that came from him told her it had dug deep. Thank the goddess, she wore 4 inch
heels all the time.

Her foot and heel of her shoe were yanked from his body, the blood was running freely
from his shirt, the van came to a sudden stop as he was trying to reach out and grab her
again, but the sudden stopping made him fall. Jay-la pulled up a knee to protect herself
from his weight as he fell on top of her. She gasped he was heavy, the man pushed
himself up, cursing “b***h, look what you did to me.” he snarled at her, grabbing her
with his Wolfen strength with both hands around her waist and yanked her up off the
floor.

“What the hell happened?” another man‟s voice came from the front of the van.

“Bloody she-wolf attack me.” he snapped, pain in his voice as he turned her around
away from him, not wanting to risk another attack. Jay-la could feel that her blouse was
also now wet with his blood, there was an uncomfortable stickiness on the heel of her
right foot and down into the ball of her foot as the blood pooled in her shoe. She could
smell it too now that she was held tightly against him, the back of her blouse was
becoming wet with his blood, his wound had yet to heal, though she doubted it would
be too long before his wolf started to heal him.

He had a tight grip on her now, more weary of her now than before. The door to the
side of the van opened and another man appeared before her, tall and lean, all muscle.
He was wearing non-descript clothing, blue jeans and a plain blue tee-shirt, his dark
brown eyes took in the scene, his wolf at the forefront ready to assist too, she could see
the slight green glow behind the brown of his eyes, it was ready to take control if she
was too much of a handful.

Jay-la wasn‟t all that big, 5foot 7, small of frame but fit, and right now probably looked
small and fragile, useless to him. She watched him, carefully trying to assess how much
trouble she was in, but trying to look defenceless and helpless at the same time. His wolf
must not have thought much of her as it retreated, leaving his human counterpart to
deal with her, a smile on his face “come here pretty one. We‟re almost at your
destination. Be good now.”
Jay-la pushed herself back against the wolf, already holding onto her as though she
didn‟t want him touching her. Shaking her head, “Don‟t touch me” she hissed, bracing
herself to attack him.

“Come now, you‟re too pretty to mess up.” he leaned into the van to grab her.

Jay-la snapped her right foot up and out at him. He didn‟t expect it and the heel of her
stiletto landed as she had expected it too, sinking deep into his neck, his eyes went wide
in shock and he pulled himself away from her, the heel coming free, he clutched at his
neck as the blood started to pour out of him, his life was ebbing away from him, she had
not missed her mark, the heel of her stiletto had sliced right through his carotid artery,
nothing could save him now bar a goddess gifted miracle.

The man holding onto her swore so violently in her ear that the loudness actually hurt
her ears. She was suddenly and abruptly shoved out of the van with no regard for the
fact that she could not help herself or stop her fall, couldn‟t even brace herself for
impact. She hit the gravel road outside the van face first and all she could do was turn
her face to the side, the gravel road ripped into her face tearing at the skin all the way
from her temple to her chin, the pain was excruciating. She felt more pain ripping
through her shoulder and hip, her chest was screaming as she felt her body slide along
the gravel, tears were spilling from her eyes from the pain, she could barely draw breath
from the sudden impact on the ground, she lay there helpless and in too much pain to
move to try and get away.

Not that she had the time, she felt herself get pulled up by her hair, off the ground, a
scream ripped from her as she thought she was about to be scalped, then her whole
body was slammed up against the outside of the van and two hands were around her
neck and squeezing, the life out of her, A third man had appeared and was trying to kill
her, her feet were off the ground with the force he was shoving her up and strangling
her, she tried to kick him but he was to close to do any damage.

“That‟s my brother you b***h, I‟ll kill you.” he screamed at her, spittle spraying all over
her face.

Jay-la had nothing to defend herself, still had her hands bound by silver cuffs behind
her, he was using his body to block her kicking, her lack of oxygen was quickly sapping
her of strength. She had had the wind knocked out of her upon hitting the ground and
now she couldn‟t draw breath at all as this man was killing her, strangling her to death.

Then the man was suddenly gone from her, her body dropped to the ground, she was
unable to support herself, and her knees buckled under her own weight as she landed
on the ground. A fight had started not far away. She could hear it, desperate to draw
breath, darkness tinging her vision again, she struggled to stay awake, to push herself
up on to her feet, her lungs burned, her entire body ached and pain filled her every
move.

Her eyes moved sluggishly to the fighting men, one seemed vaguely familiar to her. She
could hear yelling “I told you, no harm to her.”

“My brother is dead, she killed him” the other was yelling back.

Jay-la turned her head as she leaned on the van, finally drawing breath into her lungs
properly, the man on the ground was indeed dead, and the one from inside the back of
the van with her was sitting cradling his lifeless body, she didn‟t really care, those
bastards had drugged her, taken her against her will, leaving her precious babies alone
and unprotected. Dragging another breath into her lungs, Jay-la took the opportunity,
while everyone was distracted to turn and run from everyone, down the road away from
the van, away from the wolves.

Surely she could flag down a passing car. In her state someone would stop and help her,
covered in blood, multiple injuries and bound. No human would not stop and help a
female in such a bloody and dishevelled state.

It was only a few minutes before she was smashed into the ground yet again, pain upon
pain, as she took more injuries to her already damaged skin. Her knees had taken some
of this fall. She could feel pain coursing through them. 2 wolves pulled her up off the
ground onto her feet and started pulling her back the way she had come. She tried to
kick out at them but was in too much pain.

They were also bigger and stronger and just kept moving forward, her eyes lifted to the
road ahead and fear embedded into her every fibre, she was home, she could see past
the van to the big black gates that indicated the front entrance to Blood Moon Pack.
The van had stopped a good 300 meters away due to her sudden fighting in the back.
The left side of the gate was open, the right still closed, but she could easily recognise
the red circle on the closed half of the gate which represented the Blood Moon. What
the pack was named after.

Her struggles renewed but were to no avail, as they just gripped and arm each, tighter
and tighter and marched her up the road toward the half-open gate and the waiting car
she could now see on the other side of the gate. The back door was open and waiting
for her.

She noted that the sounds of fighting had stopped, back by the van that had brought
her here, tears were still spilling from her eyes, the pain was too much, and then there
was her fear of being home, fear of what was to come, if this was just the beginning of
it. She didn‟t want to think about more pain that was due to her or how it was to be
dealt out or by whom. A sob escaped her, she knew who it would be and her heart
burned with pain at the thought of it.

Would she ever see her children again?

A hand fell on her left elbow and the 2 men holding her let go instantly. “Nice to see
you again, Jay-la” she heard Beta Jackson‟s voice wash over her in a soft gentle tone. “I‟ll
take her from her boys.” He then walked her up the road towards the gate and waiting
car, she did not fight him, he had once been one of her closest friends, not anymore. But
she could not fight him, there was only 1 or 2 people in the Blood Moon Pack that could
take him down one on one and she was not one of them.

Her whole face hurt, her knees were on the verge of buckling under her from the pain,
but on she walked, she was covered in wounds, and she did not have Kora to heal her or
help ease her pain, she had to simply endure it for as long as they saw fit.

He was staring down at her, she could feel his eyes on her, she kept her eyes lowered to
the ground, what could she say to this man to make him let her go and betray his Alpha,
his best friend, nothing and she knew it, so she said nothing, just let those silent tears
fall down her bloody and ruined face, she must look utterly miserable, which was exactly
how she felt too.

She heard him sigh as they got to the car. He put her inside and slid in next to her, then
ordered the driver to go straight to the pack house.
Her fate was now sealed, she could only pray to the goddess to protect her babies from
harm. She sent up the prayer with all the love she had for her babies.

Chapter 6

Nathan POV

He was waiting in his office, pacing back and forth. His father Blaine, had also taken a
seat in his office, though on one of the comfortable chairs by the unlit fireplace off to
the right of his desk. The men who had collected her from outside her apartment
building were taking their time in getting her here, it had been almost 24 hours now. A
whole bloody day. He was furious about the length of time it was taking to get her here.

Jackson was currently sitting in a pack car, down by the gate awaiting her imminent
arrival, he would take her off their hands. The men he‟d paid to collect her had reported
to him that they‟d had no trouble snatching her. It had appeared she wasn‟t expecting it.
Which surely she would have been. It had also been reported that they had drugged her
with wolfsbane to keep her compliant and easily transportable back to his pack.

Jackson had made certain that no harm would come to her, he‟d paid them very well to
make sure of it. Nathan had approved any amount necessary to keep her untouched by
others. Havoc had displayed his unhappiness about her being drugged by ripping out of
Nathan and upending his desk leaving claw marks all over it. His wolf had been
unsettled since the day he had seen her on the TV and it was really starting to weigh on
Nathan too. Havoc could be very unpredictable at times and uncontrollable when in a
full-blown rage. He was currently very quiet, never a good thing, calm before the storm
so to speak.

“I got her” Jackson mind linked him, nothing else.

Havoc‟s attention instantly acquired, his ears were up and he was pushing forward, right
at the forefront of Nathan‟s mind. Nathan‟s attention was drawn to his father as he
suddenly shot up to his feet. His eyes glazed over, and then he left the room without a
word. Odd timing, he thought, but shrugged it off, he had other things to attend to. His
father was not his concern right now.
Trying to stop havoc from ripping out of him and running off through the pack was
more bothersome for him. Havoc had not acted this strangely in a very long time, years
in fact. The last time he had near ripped out of him at the thought of a she-wolf was
when he had scented their destined Mate Sophia. His wolf had given no quarter to
anything between him and his Mate.

„It‟s just Jay-la‟ he tried to reason with his wolf „She‟s not our Mate‟ Nathan couldn‟t
understand Havoc right now „We grew up with her, she was 20 when she left‟. He
continued to try and stay in control of the beast clawing at his mind. „We had a Mate
then, remember.‟

Havoc snarled „Gone now‟, anger rolling off of him in waves. He still missed the wolf
counterpart of their Mate – Maxi. They had bonded quickly and were happy with each
other. He‟d not so much as looked at another wolf since Sophia and Maxi had left them,
he had been rejected because Sophia was a selfish, lazy spoiled brat of a she-wolf, who
wouldn‟t even so much as try to learn her Luna duties from his mother, had just wanted
to laze around the pool and do nothing all day long, day in day out.

She had also stubbornly refused to train and learn to fight to protect herself, told him
that was what the warriors were for, if something happened she‟d just command 20 or
so to protect her. She had refused to learn how to assist with running the pack, did not
seem to care about anything other than spending his money on useless shopping trips.
He had given her everything she wanted. Lavished her with gifts, but to his surprise and
annoyance she‟d told him were not good enough, the car she wanted and he‟d bought
for her, apparently the wrong colour in her opinion, yet it was the colour she had
chosen, the jewellery was not expensive enough, or one of a kind, others might be able
to be seen wearing the same piece, which was unacceptable.

He had tried his best to please her very materialistic needs, but after 2 years of insults
and never being good enough, he had stopped trying. The only good thing about their
Mate Bond was the s*x. It was always hot, heavy and furious, and she never really said
no, only occasionally.

When she had outright refused to give him an heir he had been utterly shocked, even
Havoc had not understood it. Maxi too had told him no on that account due to Sophia
being unhappy and unwilling. They had all started drifting apart after that and 3 years
after Mating to each other, Sophia had stomped into his office and demanded to know
why her cards had been cut off from pack funding.

Nathan had looked her right in the eyes and laid it out for her, “Why let you spend pack
money, when you won‟t learn to do Luna duties, or produce an Heir.” it had been a
punishment he‟d thought might pull her into line, but nope it had backfired.

Sophia had screamed at him that he was cold and heartless and that she should be
treated like a queen, and would accept nothing less. Then she had hurled a formal
rejection at him. He and Havoc had been stunned into silence as they had watched her
storm out of his office. He had not been alone in that office either, still under his father‟s
tutelage to learn how to run every part of the pack, both his father‟s Beta and his own
future Beta had been in the room as well.

He and Havoc‟s heart had broken in that instant, the whole room had gone silent and
Havoc had whined in pain, he‟d never known the pain of heart break before and had
retreated to the furthest reaches of Nathan‟s mind, leaving Nathan to deal with the
fallout.

He had found her in their suite, sitting in the middle of their bed, arms folded across her
chest looking angry, but not at all upset. He had barely been holding it together to
make it out of his office and up the stairs to find her. Not to mention the humiliation of
having it screamed at him in front of several people, and over something so stupid as
money.

“What do you want, Sophia?” he asked, trying to placate her and get her back.

“Accept the rejection and give me what I am en-titled too.”

“And what exactly is it you think you are en-titled to?” he‟d shot back at her annoyed
that she didn‟t even seem to want to work it out, that she looked barely upset at all by
the rejection she had declared not 10 minutes ago.

“half of everything. I‟m the Luna, I get half of all of it.”

His anger had finally outweighed his pain at this point. All this girl had ever done was
f**k and spend money, nothing worth half his pack, half his money, beside that, his
mother was the Luna, and his father the Alpha. They had not yet taken over.

“ You‟ll get nothing of the sort, you rejected me, so go ahead and leave, go with what
you came with, NOTHING.” he‟d roared with anger the last word at her and stormed off.

Though he had not formally accepted her rejection at the time, due to a part of him not
wanting to loose his Mate, the other half of his soul. Havoc had already retreated and
who knew if he would come back? Nathan was already wondering why he wasn‟t a
raging beast out killing everything in his path. Did he know it was coming, had Maxi
warned him, or had Havoc had enough of the years of tantrums and arguments and lack
of Luna qualities in Sophia that he was willingly giving up his Mate Maxi, Nathan didn‟t
think so, it was the calm before the storm.

Sophia had spent the next 6 months flaunting herself around the pack, flirting with
warriors and other un-mated males right in front of him. Most knew better than to get
in Havoc‟s way. Most of them had made a very quick exit when she openly started
flirting with them. Her flirting had been the last straw, he‟d kicked her from their suite.
Neither he nor Havoc would stand for the disrespect his Mate was showing, it had
brought about a new type of rage in Havoc, and uncontrollable, unpredictable side that
to this day Nathan could not always contain, no matter how hard he tried, his wolfs rage
could be insatiable.

Havoc had killed one male who had actually thought it was okay to put his hands on
their mate and his future Luna, thought it was okay to crawl into her bed and f**k her.
Pain had ripped through the both of them at her letting another man touch her that
way, the betrayal unbearable, while he had staggered about in pain like nothing he had
ever felt before ripping through him like a thousand silver blades, cutting him all at
once. Havoc had gone absolutely ballistic and ripped from his body in such a violent
manner that Nathan had had no control over him, he had half shifted, terrifying many
pack members as he had gone in search of his Mate. Within seconds of finding that
male on top of their Mate, his head had been ripped clean off his body, he‟d dragged a
screaming, naked and terrified Sophia out from under the lifeless body and slammed
her up against the wall, his hands wrapping around her throat choking the life from her.
If it hadn‟t been for Maxi surging forward, Havoc would have killed both their mates and
Sophia knew it too. Fear had ebbed out of her every time she‟d seen either of them over
the next week. She was en-titled to nothing and he had made sure she had gotten
exactly that. He‟d had the pack lawyers draw up a formal rejection letter with all her
short cumming‟s, so when she had come to his office at his demand and read it, saw she
was literally getting nothing, that she would indeed be leaving with only what she came
with 1 suitcase of her own clothing due to her lack of Luna training, lack of wanting to
produce an heir and then her infidelity she had had the hide to snort and laughed in his
face “if you think I will sign that you‟re insane” she had turned to leave his office.

Havoc had emerged, forcing him to half shift, a weird feeling to say the least. He had
grabbed her all his claws out and digging into her arms, dragged her back to the desk
and had been about to slam her head on the desk when Nathan had managed to regain
some control “sign it or I‟ll let Havoc kill you.” he had stated in a soft menacing tone, he
had forced a pen into her hand and grated out his formal acceptance of her rejection 6
months earlier that still hung in the air, as she‟d never retracted it.

Both he and Havoc were done. Being betrayed had been the last straw, he had watched
tears fill her eyes as the rejection hit her full force, it was too late for tears. They could
not save her, her tears meant nothing to him anymore. They hated her. Hated the sight
of her, the smell of her and he just wanted it all to be over with and to get her away
from him and Havoc, so that they could move on with their lives.

When she had not signed right away, he had squeezed her hand so tightly almost to the
point of breaking bones, she had cried out in pain “sign it” Havoc had roared, forcing
himself into control once more “or die”. She had finally understood at that moment she
had pushed his beast too far and that there was no coming back from it.

She‟d signed the papers and run to her room to pack. No one was there to help her.

Nathan had made sure of that, she would pack and walk away on her own with no help.
He had watched her leave from the 3rd floor balcony as she had struggled to pull her
suitcase down the road behind her, as pack members had visually shunned her. He had
done nothing, just watched silently. The minute she was off pack territory and out of
their lives he‟d gone to their suite and destroyed everything in it, his pain and anguish
unleashed finally, where she could never see it.
The whole suite had to be rebuilt and refurbished.

Chapter 7

Jay-la POV

She was walked into the once familiar packhouse. It smelled the same. Cedar and coffee
as well as the delicious smell of many foods wafted to her from where she knew the
kitchen and pack dining room was, it was likely dinner time, the sun was low in the sky
but not dark out side, most of the wolves would come to the pack house dinning room
to eat and be social with each other at the end of the day.

Jay-la did not look up, did not care to see the stares she would receive as they judged
her on her very bloody and dishevelled appearance, nor did she wish to see the looks on
anyone‟s face as they realised who she was or that she was the traitor who had attacked
their Luna years ago.

She was walked into the Alpha‟s office, her heart beat rapidly and heavily inside her
chest, as she felt eyes on her, she knew who‟s they were. She had always known when he
was looking right at her. Now it was no different from before.

He didn‟t say a single word, just stared at her, she could feel the anger pouring off of
him, so much anger at just the sight of her. He clearly still hated her, nothing would ever
change that it seemed. Again that familiar tinge of pain spread through her chest, only
with her hands cuffed behind her she couldn‟t rub her heart to ease it away like she
would normally do.

Jackson walked her all the way across the room and pushed her gently into the chair
directly in front of his desk, which he was either sitting or standing behind. She did not
care to look at him.

“Look at me!” he demanded of her. She could hear how he was trying to control the
anger in his voice, but failing, his rage for her 1 mistake all those years ago, but could
not ignore the command he had issued her. Jay-la did not want to look at this man, did
not want to have to nearly feel like she was drowning in the depth of his dark blue eyes,
so dark they were like looking at the ocean.

Her tear-filled eyes moved in an upward direction, he was wearing a charcoal grey suit,
unbuttoned with a crisp white shirt underneath, the top three buttons also undone,
exposing the smooth tanned skin beneath. His lips were pressed together in a tightly
thin line, his blond hair styled just like it used to be, short on the sides, long on the top,
looked as though he‟d been running his hands through it. No…she told herself, likely his
Luna had probably been with him recently.

Her eyes met his deep dark blue ones, so filled with anger were they, at just looking at
her, that she couldn‟t help it, more tears spilled from her green eyes. He‟d never look at
her the way he used to. She could not hold his angry gaze for more than a few seconds,
it hurt her way too much, her eyes fell away to look at the floor.

This man, the father of her children, hated her so much, his rage was barely contained.

She heard his office door open with a loud bang as it bounced into the wall with the
force it had be shoved open with and her eyes were drawn to it. Alpha Blaine strode into
the room, his eyes fell on her a look of utter shock crossed his face, as he looked over
her from head to toe and then back again. “There is trouble son!” he stated flatly,
though his eyes never moved from her “you‟re mother just recorded this.”

Both Alpha Nathan and his Beta Jackson‟s attention were shifted away from her and to
Alpha Blaine, Jay-la took the moment to rush up from her seat and run over to him. Her
former Alpha, he had not banished her, had not severed her from the pack, he must feel
something, some compassion for her. She had to beg him for help, it was not beneath
her to beg, not at this point, nothing was beneath her when it came to her children and
she would beg him for help to get back to them. Her children, his grandchildren, not
that he knew that. But still she had to try, had to beg and plead, he was probably the
only one who could help her now.

She fell to her knees right at his feet, bearing the pain from aggravating her already
wounded knees, “Alpha Blaine please, I beg you. Help me” tears streamed from her eyes
as she looked up at him and sobbed out her plea.
He looked down at her, she thought she could see genuine concern and pity for her, but
her eyes were blurry with tears, she couldn‟t be certain, he would help her. He knew
both her parents and she had made just 1 error in her life. Could forgiveness be granted
“please.” she sobbed again when he did not answer her “I have 3 children, a family” she
didn‟t care at this point who knew about her children, she did not have to say who their
father was, he just needed to believe her.

His eyes widened in shock. She had not misread that at all, she heard a gasp and a growl
fill the room, Alpha Blaine knelt down and touched his forehead to hers. “ Show me
child”. She knew he had a unique ability to see into someone‟s mind if the other was
willing, should she? Yes, she didn‟t care at this point, she had to make him believe her.

She closed her eyes and pulled a mental image of her children into her mind, them
playing in the living room like they did every day. She felt his mind reach out and grab
it, pull it towards him to see for himself. It took less than a few seconds, and then he let
the image go and stood up.

“ Please.” she begged him again, bowing her head so low that her head touched the
floor before his feet. “don‟t let them become motherless.”

“Get her up.” She heard Alpha Nathan roar so filled with anger that she had turned to
the previous alpha for help.

She felt hands on her arms as she was picked up off the floor and moved to a standing
position. Beta Jackson‟s touch had been gentle when he had gotten her up.

The wall-mounted TV turned on as Jackson brushed her blood-soaked hair from her
face, she looked up into his grey eyes pleadingly and mouthed „please‟. It was no
use…Unless Nathan told him to release her she was going nowhere it seemed. She
would remain his prisoner, regardless that she had just proved she did have children,
until he saw fit.

Her attention was drawn to the voice on the TV. She saw one Eric Stanton standing
before the company‟s press conference podium. He looked very pissed off and unhappy.
A shiver ran through her body, for even he was a scary man when he was angry. A
human force to be reckoned with he was, not many in the human world would go up
against him.
What he said next shocked her, he was talking about her, that she had been kidnapped,
then grainy footage of her being grabbed by two men outside of her apartment
building, a cloth shoved over her face and something injected into her neck with a large
syringe before she had been dragged off into a dark coloured unmarked van. It was
clearly her she recognised the clothes she was wearing, although now her white chiffon
blouse was filthy dirty, ripped and blood-stained as was her light pink pencil skirt, the
stockings she was wearing were laddered and holey, and her once neat french rolled
hair was now hanging loosely about her in a blood stained and messy state.

The screen flashed back to Eric, more anger could be seen in his expression. “I believe I
know who took Miss Freeman, I have provided the details to the Federal Police and an
investigation is under way at this very moment.”

Eric raised his hand and there in it was the Black Envelope that she had been sent by
Alpha Nathan. Eric went on to read the contents of the letter to the press and then gave
the author‟s name, turned it around and showed it to the camera which zoomed in on it
so anyone watching the broadcast could read it for themselves.

He continued “Mr Nathan Browning of Browning Corporation, I believe this letter is a

threat directed at my employee Jay-la, I am informing you that I have used my skill and
authority as a prosecutor to make it known that I believe you are the number 1 suspect
in her kg, that you have taken her against her will and when I find out the truth, and I
will. My entire team will be coming for you and your corporation.

No harm must come to Miss Freeman and you will return her at once. Do not orphan
her 3 children.”

Thank the goddess for Eric Stanton and his damned stubborn streak, the man thought
he was untouchable and therefore could say what he liked when he liked, for once, she
was glad he was not only her boss, but a familiar person to her. She couldn‟t be more
happy about his need to control everything and everyone around him and take charge
attitude. She was going to hug him if she ever got back to work.

Jay-la also sent up a silent prayer to the goddess that she had not had the presence of
mind to pick up that letter when she left, she hadn‟t left it on purpose, she had simply
left her office in a state of fear and distress that she had not thought to pick it up.
Now here was Eric using that letter as evidence and he had hit the nail right on the
head, she was exactly where he thought she was and with who he claimed had her.
Though how the human federal police would retrieve her from wolfen society, she had
no idea.

The room went silent, the TV had been turned off, she heard Alpha Nathan curse out
loud, Jackson huffed a moment later, they were all talking via their mind link about what
she didn‟t know, probably what they needed to do about the press conference. Jay-la
was curious but would just have to stand and wait.

Her tears had stopped falling with the hope that Eric could save her. She had worked for
him her whole career. She‟d interned at his law firm the entire last 2 years of her degree,
never allowing the pregnancy or the birth of her triplets to interfere in her work. He‟d
been more than shocked when he‟d found out how pregnant she was and the long
hours she was putting in anyway, working so hard to be his intern, she worked late into
the nights determined not to be weak in front of him. Determined not to loose her
career, she needed it to support her children.

Her dogged determination had intrigued him, she‟d finished her degree at the top of
her class, even after giving birth to the triplets, she‟d studied hard and continuously.
He‟d been more than surprised to know she could speak fluent Mandarin, French and
Korean. She had a knack for languages and was currently learning German in her spare
time.

Eric now knew that Tony and Lauren had stepped in to help her out, seeing as she didn‟t
appear to have any family, kind of took her in as their own. Jay-la had passed the Bar
Exam, Aced it actually and he‟d offered her a job as soon as the results were in. Now
here he was trying to help her again.

“Get the cuffs off of her” she heard Alpha Nathan snap, dragging her attention back to
the present from her memories of Eric. Jackson produced a small key and turned her
around to release the cuffs. The moment they were off, the burning of her skin stopped
and she rubbed her wrists to ease the pain. The only part of her not injured her hands,
due to them being bound behind her the whole time.

Jackson turned her face him and Jay-la watched his grey eyes glaze over again. She
glanced at the 2 alpha‟s in the room and noted they were all in a mind-link
conversation, she was not bound and no one was currently with eyes on her. Now or
never, she thought to herself.

Death wish it is. Jay-la took a long slow breath and steeled herself for the fight of her
life.

She slammed her knee into Jackson‟s groin as hard as she could, it caused her pain too,
due to her injuries, and then she turned and ran as fast as she could from the office. The
door was still open from when Alpha Blaine had burst into the room and she knew from
past experience the packhouse front door was likely open as well, only ever closed when
they locked up for the night. She ran as fast as she could for the front gates, praying
they were still open.

In her mind as she ran for her life she was screaming for Kora to wake up. She could
finally feel her on the edge of her mind, way in the back buried in the darkness. She
needed her wolf more than ever, her speed, her strength and stamina, her fierceness
and determination to protect her and get her out of here and back to their pups.

“KORA” she screamed over and over, trying desperately to wake her beast within, until
finally she felt her wolf wake up “HELP ME” Jay-la screamed into her mind at her wolf so
she would feel the urgency.

Kora rushed forward and to take stock of the situation at hand and her surroundings,
looking behind her, she saw Jackson and Stephen running after her and gaining ground
quickly, their wolves, Apollo and Rafe lending all their speed. A snarl ripped from her
and then she surged forward giving all her speed, power and strength to their shared
body. They shot forward fast. Kora was always fast, not many could catch her out in the
open.

A part of Kora felt excited and exhilarated about using everything she had, another part
of her felt happy about being chased by two she knew would never catch her, she
actually chortled in happiness at being free to run as fast as she could. Something she
had not been able to do in years, to run at full force and be at the forefront and mostly
in control, really made her excited and happy.

Being chased by wolves from her own pack on the other hand did not impress her
„how?‟ she queried as she raced down the road.
„drugged, wolfs-bane and silver, kidnapped.‟ Jay-la informed her.

A massive growl emerged from within her as anger filled her wolf „pups?‟

„Home, just us. They didn‟t seem to know about them, til now.‟

„til now?‟

„I had to beg Alpha Blaine, tell him we had children, he insisted on seeing with his gift.‟

Kora was quiet, but spurred on by the need to know her pups were safe, she increased
her speed even more. She had gotten faster over the years, even though only let out
every 3 or 4 months she had grown with Jay-la.

The pack gate finally came into view and to her surprise it was open and there was a
human federal police car parked right there on the driveway. She watched as a man got
out dressed in a simple black suit, he was staring right at her, completely shocked to
actually see her, probably never thought she was actually here, or had been informed as
much by the gate guards.

She screamed for help. Saw him get out his gun and raise it in his hand, it was aimed
not at her but behind her, to her relief she heard the foot fall of Jackson and Steven slow
and stop altogether, they would not give chase to her while human FEDs were in sight.
Not after that press conference Eric had given, May the Goddess bless you Eric.

„Kora don‟t heal us when we stop.‟

„Evidence.‟ Kora agreed. They were both smart, what Jay-la had studied so had Kora,
their interests aligned. She ran right into the arms of the other human who had gotten
out of the car and collapsed into his chest, sobbing like a good terrified young lady
running for her life from her kidnappers into the arms of a rescuer.

As she got into the car she turned her eyes on the pack road, Jackson and Steven were
both standing there watching her. She didn‟t hesitate to get in the car‟s back seat. She
just hoped they wouldn‟t hunt and kill the humans with her to get her back, the minute
they drove away.
Chapter 8

Nathan POV

The second she had been walked into his office, her scent hit him so hard he had to
force himself not to stumble backwards, mixed in with all the blood of both the men she
had attacked trying to get away from his bringing her home, along with her own blood
was the smell of Coconut, Vanilla and morning due „she was his Mate‟

Havoc was roaring with anger from the state of their Mate, she was bruised all over and
wounded in so many places. There were bruised hand marks around her neck where
someone had choked her, her beautiful face was bloodied and ripped open all down the
right side, and blood was still slowly oozing from her chin, her right shoulder was
exposed as her blouse had ripped open along the seem and she had deep cuts and
grazes, there was blood still dripping down her arm, active bleeding, both arms had
hand marks which were already mottling to purple, the front of her blouse was covered
in blood and not just hers, she had long tear near the top of blouse and part of her soft
milky white skin above her breast was showing, blood stains coming from underneath
her chest injured to whose knows what extent.

His eyes continued to assess her broken and battered body, there was a blood stain on
her right hip, a wound under her skirt that was yet to be seen, her right foot and stiletto
was covered in blood, not hers though, pain was ripping through both him and Havoc at
the state of her, both her knees were bloody and wounded, he could still see there was
gravel embedded into her cheek, shoulder and knees.

Havoc wanted to kill everyone. No harm was supposed to come to her. If this was no
harm, what the hell was harm? Nathan was doing his best to contain the beast within
him, seeing the tears streaming down her once lovely face now so damaged she barely
looked like herself at all, was inciting his beast‟s anger even further „you did this‟. He
roared at Nathan, his claws ripping at his mind trying to hurt his human counterpart.

He watched as Jackson sat her in the chair before him, her head was bowed, defeat
written all over her posture and expression, she had yet to look at him “Look at me” he
demanded of her, he could not keep his anger at bay, and unfortunately he knew he
sounded furious at her, but really he just wanted to see those green eyes, that had once
looked at him with joy and affection, filled with tenderness, maybe even love, not that
she had ever said she loved him. But maybe she had once.

He could feel as her eyes looked over him, he was desperately struggling to keep havoc
from roaring Mate at her, he was biting down so hard on Havoc‟s need to claim her
right this instant, he could taste his own blood.

She had not so much as reacted to him or their scent, something was wrong here, very
wrong.

Finally, those jewel green eyes met his, filled to the brim with tears, Havoc immediately
started ripping and clawing everywhere at his mind in his desperate need to get to her,
to comfort her and claim her for himself.

For once, Nathan actually had complete control, probably only because he saw nothing
but fear in her eyes, their mate was terrified of him. He knew Havoc‟s rage and
aggression was pouring out of him and into the room around her. He couldn‟t stop that
„calm down‟. He yelled at Havoc „you‟re scaring her.

Those green eyes only looked into his for a few measly seconds, perhaps 3 if he was
lucky before falling away to the floor, she couldn‟t even bare to look at him. „f**k this is
bad‟ he thought.

„Mate‟ Havoc roared in his mind „why not know? We Mate?‟ Havoc was so angry that he
could barely string a proper sentence together.

„Wolfs-bane and silver suppressing her natural instincts‟

„Kora?‟

„Disconnected from her‟ Nathan surmised, til she got the wolfs-bane completely out of
her system and the silver cuffs off. She was not likely to register that he was her Mate.

„Get cuffs off‟ Havoc snapped at him. Furious, they were still on her, hindering their Mate
Bond
Just then his office door banged opened so violently that it took his attention from Jay-
la his Second Chance Mate to his father the former Alpha “There is trouble son, your
mother just recorded this.”

Nathan saw movement and watched as Jay-la shot towards his father and dropped
down onto her knees. It must have caused her great pain, but she endured it, and
pleaded for her life. His heart ached terribly, she thought he was going to kill her. There
were more tears falling from her beautiful eyes as she looked up at his father Blaine,
while pleading for her life.

Her next words hit him like a ton of brinks, “ Please, I have 3 children, a family.” his anger
was being replaced by fear, she already had a mate and a family. Maybe that is why she
didn‟t recognize them as her Mate.

„no‟ Havoc whimpered, sorrow starting to filter into his rage. A growl erupted from him
and Nathan knew Havoc was going to kill her mate, she was his, Kora was his, no one
was going to have her „only us‟. He snarled, his anger refuelling at the mere thought of
someone else touching his mate. „we‟ll mark over him, claim now‟ Havoc roared.

He saw his father try to clarify her statement with his goddess given gift of mind-sight,
she didn‟t even hesitate, she wasn‟t lying and he knew it, after his father stepped away
and just stared at her to his horror he watched as she bowed so low that her head
touched the floor at his fathers feet as she pleaded for her children to not become
motherless.

“Get her up” Havoc roared, his anger refreshed completely to full force as he watched
the utterly submissive position she had taken up in front of his father. He never wanted
to see her so low. Not his Mate, not the future Luna to their pack.

He watched as Jackson got her up off the floor, he was so gentle with her. Not once had
he hurt her, even when he had brought her into the office and sat her in the chair before
him his touch had been light and gentle. A part of him wondered what Jackson felt for
her, he had been so pissed off when Nathan had ordered her gone, he‟d never seen the
man that furious before. Now watching him with her, he was worried there was
something else going on, perhaps she had two mates. That thought elicited a snarl from
Havoc, „I no share‟ Nathan agreed „I know.‟ He would have to come back to it later.
His attention was brought to the TV and he stood there and watched as Eric Stanton,
the current CEO of Stanton & Co Law Firm, Jay-la‟s boss, accused him outright of kg her,
then produced evidence that could be construed as proof. That demand to come home
or he would send for her. Then the footage of her actually being drugged and abducted
was completely surprising, wolves were usually very good at covering their tracks in the
human world.

That bastard had even gone to the lengths to contact the human FEDs and get an
investigation under way, and was threatening to throw everything he had at him. This
was indeed bad, if they found her here and in her current state, it would all point to him.

Yes he had done everything that Eric claimed, but in Wolfen Society it was completely
normal to claim back what was yours, regardless of how it was done, he was the Alpha
and she was one of his pack members, his Mate. He had every right to retrieve her
however he darn-well pleased. Technically, even before he knew she was his Mate she
had still belonged to him.

He cursed out loud the minute his gate guards informed him via the mink link that there
was a car with human government officials pulling up the driveway. Jackson huffed in
annoyance, s**t was about to get real. How were they going to explain her current state.

“We could explain to them we rescued her from the kidnappers” Jackson offered up
though the mind link.

“Get the cuffs off her.” He snapped, the sooner she got Kora back the sooner she would
know he was her Mate and this whole s**t show could be resolved quickly with a simple
statement from Jay-la that they had not harmed her and in-fact she and he were in a
relationship, that he had saved her.

„ You hope so‟ Havoc snorted, „look at mate. Hurt. Upset. Pups somewhere, separated by
us.‟

Nathan knew it was a mess. „ As soon as she recognises us Havoc we can manage it‟, he
tried to reassure his beast.

He heard the howl of pain as they were all trying to figure out a way to sort the Feds
out, and Jackson was suddenly severed from the mind-link conversation. Nathan‟s
attention returned to the room they were in to see what was going on and she was
gone. He could hear her high heels on the wooden floor racing away from him.

He moved to go after her, stopped by his father‟s hand on his shoulder “not you. If the
Feds see you chasing her, it‟ll get worse.‟

“I can catch her.”

“ I‟ll go.” Jackson stated, still holding on to his balls. She had kneed him pretty hard
obviously and taken him completely off guard, it seems, attacked while he was
distracted with mind linking.

He watched Jackson straighten up with effort, take a deep breath to get his pain under
control and then head out the door to his office to go after her. She had repaid his
gentleness and kindness in a terrible way.

“Son, what is going on?” his farther asked curiosity back in his voice.

“She‟s my mate.” Nathan said rubbing a hand over his face and through his hair,
frustration filling him.

“ What” his father stared at him shocked, “And you dragged her back here like that. Are
you and your wolf insane?”

“I only found out when she was walked into my office just now.”

“Well Shit.” He was quiet then for a good minute, clearly thinking about something.
“why is she still running from you then?”

“She is disconnected from Kora, wolfs-bane and silver”

“So before she can even register what is happening in this office, she is running away
again.”

“Jackson will get her.” Nathan stated flatly.

“ If I recall, son. She could out run your Beta back in the days when she lived here.”
A growl escaped Havoc. He had forgotten that, „she doesn‟t have Kora at the moment so
no wolf speed, He‟ll get her‟. He tried to placate Havoc‟s growing desire to hunt her
himself.

„He‟d better.‟ Havoc growled, letting Nathan know of his displeasure at the situation.

“Jackson?” Nathan shot through the mind link when he had heard nothing for a solid 5
minutes, how could she get away from him without Kora, and in those damned stiletto‟s.

“Kora is awake and fast boss, I‟m not gonna get her.” he sighed.

“How close to the gate is she?”

“ Coming up any minute now.”

Havoc snarled in his mind „We go‟

„ we‟ll not even get her now.‟

“Jackson, stop, we‟ll retrieve her later, let her go, stop the minute you think she‟ll make
the gate, it‟s open for the Feds.”

“Right Boss”

He only had to wait a few minutes “Gone Boss, sorry!”

“Get back to the packhouse, we know where she is going.”

Chapter 9

Jay-la POV

Photographed and injuries documented and tended to by a human doctor. Jay-la gave
her statement to the human Feds. All that she knew, she only told exactly what
happened, leaving out that she had killed one wolf, but stated she had injured him. No
lies about what had happened on pack territory, she would not incite more rage from
her Alpha.

Technically, he and his men in the pack had not hurt her at all. Nil wounds were in fact
inflicted by the Alpha, Beta or previous Alpha, all of whom she used their human names
for. She was returned to Tony and Lauren‟s house where her children were. She couldn‟t
allow Kora to heal her because it would be suspicious to suddenly have no wounds.

Jay-la fell onto her knees and hugged her children tightly to her, k!ssing them
repeatedly on their heads, they were all crying at the state of her, touching her gently
and asking if it hurt. She didn‟t want them to see her like this, but it was the price of
living in the human world. Their distress at her being missing was evident. Even when
she tried to use the bathroom, they all trailed her, she just let them. She and Kora didn‟t
want to let them out of sight either. So it was fine.

She and the triplets had slept in the same bed every night that week. Tim had come
straight over to Tony‟s house the minute Eric had informed him she was back and safe.
He had stayed that first night and held her in his arms all night. While she had spent the
night staring at her babies, it wasn‟t often one of them would actually spend the night,
usually they would have s3x multiple times and then one would go home. Sleep overs
were rare.

There was no s3x, she had too many injuries and she was not interested either and
neither was he. He was just worried about her current state and wanted her to know he
was there for her, to Jean on. She was grateful for that, he could only stay on the
weekend due to having to be in court all week. But it was nice to actually have him
around. He had often hugged her and just cuddled her for no reason, he played with the
kids and was generally nice to have around.

The way the Feds had found her, bruised, battered and bloodied and running screaming
from the Blood Moon Pack or Browning‟s Corporation to the humans, had landed
Nathan in hot water, though she knew it was most likely going to be swept away by the
Wolfen council as they would find away to get him off the hook and out of the human
worlds trials and he would never ever see the inside of a real human prison. It would
probably take some doing or time, but it would be done. Pay the right people the right
amount and anything could go away.
Jaya knew that he had been charged with k***g and causing grievous bodily harm as
Eric had drawn up the charges and was going to prosecute the case himself just like he
had said it was going to. Eric was very unhappy and could see why she had stated she
would not be able to bring them in as a client, called him all sorts of vial names when
he‟d collected her from the airport and took stock of her condition. He‟d been the one
to take her to Tony and Lauren‟s.

Eric had announced no work for the following week and so she had spent it with her
children at Tony and Lauren‟s she felt safe there. It was a gated home with security
camera‟s and she didn‟t think that Nathan or any of his men Would know about them or
at least she didn‟t think they would.

Tony had taken to calling him a „Prick‟ or unethical bastard‟ and occasionally a dumb-
áss. Jay-la and Kora were never more that 5 feet from their children at any given time. It
was a long night every night, Kora promised to keep their pups safe while she slept, she
would monitor from within, no wolf would get near their babies again. She had allowed
Kora to heal her a little each day, the distress in her children‟s eyes was too much to take
and after just 7 days she was fine, healed up and back to normal.

She knew it would have taken longer for a real human but she just shrugged it off and
said she was healthy and a fast healer, she guessed.

Going back to work and sending her babies off to school again worried her, Alpha
Blaine had gotten a good look at the three of them. She was certain that he‟d pick Nate
as his grandson. He might be a bit confused about the twins. They were smaller and
looked a year younger, but she didn‟t doubt he would see just how much Nate looked
like his father. Spitting image even at that age, she had grown up with him. She reçalled
what he looked like at 5. So would Alpha Blaine.

And now Nathan also knew she had children a family. What would he do with the
information? She had defied him at every turn, not gone back willingly, killed one of the
men designated to get her, assaulted his Beta and run away again, back to the human
world. A place she‟d found solace and sanctuary from her banishment. Not only had she
defied him, she had also not declared her children to her pack, and certainly had not
told him they were his.
Two things she should have done, especially the last one, keeping an Alpha from his
offspring was a deadly game. At some point when they got older, she knew his wolf
would sense it, and definitely feel it once they got their own wolves, the hunt would
have been on then, but that was years away and so she had never thought about it. That
was future Jay-la‟s problem.

Jay la wasn‟t about to go telling him either, he was already angry with her and she
wasn‟t about to go and make him 100 times more angry. He had already lost out on
punishing her and had clearly planned to. He hadn‟t even gotten to tell her what that
punishment would be. That must really enrage him even more. Alpha‟s did like to strike
fear into their enemies, loved the power they had and could push around. Fear was how
they protected their pack and members from other Alpha‟s.

But because she was so well ensconced in the human world, known to many here as an
expert divorce lawyer and had many wealthy and well-known clients to represent, her
Alpha was going to have to deal with her here in the human world, play by human world
rules or it will just appear that he would have come and abducted her again, Jay-la was
pretty certain he was not going to like that at all. Wouldn‟t risk it probably, being
trapped in the human world risked his pack to attacks from other Aipha‟s.

Every day for her now, though was going to be like a ticking time bomb however,
waiting for him to sever her connection to his pack, if his father didn‟t say anything and
she had no idea if the man would, he hadn‟t really reacted to the sight of the children,
perhaps he had not made the connection at all, perhaps a vision of them was not
enough for him to sense his Own bloodline.

Alpha Blaine had been kind to her, never severed her connection, continued to pay her
school fees, didn‟t cut off her pack card, thanked the goddess she had used it to pay for
the nanny while in school, though had stopped using it the minute she started working
for Eric and earning her own money, He had also never sent anyone to track her down
and force her back.

He clearly hada good heart, a caring person. Unlike his son, she wondered why he had
turned out so bad. He hadn‟t been like that when she had been growing up in the pack.

Being back at the Blood Moon Pack brought up memories of her family, and she
wondered how her mum and dad were, her brother Bradley, were they all okay, or had
he punished them as much as her. She hoped not. Jay-la had not spoken to them in the
6 years she had been gone either, they had not tried to contact her, or come and see
her, never attempted to track her down either. She wondered if they even missed her, or
were they just as disappointed and annoyed with her for that one error she had made.
Or had Nathan forbidden them from seeing her?

Jay-la felt a ripple of guilt come from Kora at the thought of the loss of their family.
They had all been so close, much loved by all of them and she had loved them right
back, still did and missed them all the time, just had to push the feeling aside and not
think about it, that was the best way to deaf with it.

„Don‟t feel guilty Kora, you did what you did to protect our pups. So stop with the guilt.‟

„I know…but‟ sadness wafted from her.

„It is fine, it was a long time ago. I do not blame you, you know that, so please stop
feeling guilty about it.‟
Kora sighed in her mind, she had always blamed herself for us being told to leave and
never come back. Jay-la didn‟t blame her. She had been going to leave anyway, live on
campus for the last 2 years of her degree, so as not to have to see him with his Mate so
happy and in love. Thankfully, she still hadn‟t had to witness it, the woman had not
shown her face during her brief, very brief trip to the pack.

Kora, you are amazing, I couldn‟t ask for a better wolf. she told Kora, thankful for just
how fast Kora was. Not many could out run her. Only 2 from her pack had ever
managed it, when she was in wolf form and running at full speed, the current and
former Alpha. Even growing up in Blood Moon Pack, everyone had been amazed by
Kora. She was so beautiful her pale silver fur practically glowed in the moonlight like she
was white, with her cute grey snout and paws. When she had run with her pack under
the full moon for the first time her mother had told her she looked like the moon
herself.

What was fun was that she could hide in the snow so well of a night that it was always
fun to play with the boys, go out in the winter time and hide in a snow drift, then wait
and see how long it took them to find her, after she had mind-linked them to tell them
they‟d never find her, a hunt, they had all enjoyed, Alpha Nathan‟s wolf Havoc especially,
he‟d always love to hunt and was good at it, typical alpha gene‟s she guessed. A good
memory from her teen age years.

Kora had always been able to run like the wind. Once agáin, she had proved hoW
amazing she was Even in human form, Kora had been able to outrun Jackson and his
wolf Apollo, something she had been proud of back in the day, and now could still be.
Still faster than the Beta, hahaha suck it, she thought with a chuckle, she would love to
tease him about still being slow.

She and Kora had always teased them when growing up. “You‟re all slow poke‟s” she
would tease them, throwing leaves and Sometimes mud at them or snow balls
depending on the time of the year. It had always enticed them and their wolves into a
game of chasey so they could try and prove her wrong.

Their wolves were going to grow to be the strongest and fastest in the pack, the Alpha‟s
designated unit to help him protect and secure the pack.

It had been a game pure and simple, one that she and Kora knew they actually couldn‟t
Win, not because she couldn‟t outrun them because she could, but because of who they
actually were. The future Beta, Gamma and Delta, they would use other tactics to bring
her down. Splitting up and forcing her into a corner was their favourite, setting a trap
and they were good at it.

She had often wondered how many planned traps they had made and discussed about
her and Kora to always be able to hunt and push her where they could corner her in
different places all over pack territory. If they couldn‟t, they had simply called for back
up, and he would come for her, Havoc ever present to give him the burst of speed he
needed to drag her wolfdown to the ground.

It had always been all in good fun. She sighed heavily „no that‟s enough of a trip down
memory lane, let‟s not recall anymore.‟ Agreed. Kora huffed, seemed a little annoyed,
but seeing as he had just kidnapped them and separated them from their pups, we
shouldn‟t go down memory lane. He had changed from the fun, playful man she had
known to an angry, hateful man, well where she was concerned anyway.

His Beta was still loyal to him, so it was likely he was still liked and respected by his pack,
it was just her he hated, and for so very long. Would he ever let it go, she doubted it. His
anger was still so great even after all this time, she had hoped with years passing it
would have lessened, that one marking of his Mate just once and she would have healed
and been left unblemished.

Jay-la‟s wounds were much more severe from her k****g than the 3 tiny claw marks she
had left on Luna Sophia‟s face, and she had healed up, not a blemish left on her. How
could it be that he is still so angry with her? Clearly 20 years of friendship meant nothing
to him. She closed her eyes. „Don‟t go there‟ Kora whined at her. The past hurt her too.

Chapter 10

Nathan POV

He had spent the past week having his men investigate her where about. She had not
returned to her apartment, had been taken somewhere else and where he had yet to
find out. He couldn‟t actually blame her for that, she had run off back to the human
world, probably right into Eric Stanton‟s protection. She felt like she belonged there now
he figured, because he had once ordered her to leave, and told her to never come back.
She had no where else to go, so it was not surprising that she had made a life for herself
there.

Nathan had wolves watching her apartment for her return, but 7 days and nothing.

The FEDs had come for him the following morning. After her escape, he had gone
willingly, no point in arguing it, not when she had ran right into their arms in such a
bloodied and wounded state, directly from his pack Jands. He had been hoping she
would still be with them and he could come across her.

That way she could scent him out and Kora and she would identify them as their Mate,
which could solve everything.

But she had not been anywhere near him, at hospital for treatment of her wounds, she
couldn‟t just heal herself overnight in the human world. That would be extremely odd,
and draw her unwanted attention to herself, she was smart. How could she claim her
wounds were real if all healed and then he could claim she had fabricated them if that
was the case.

He had been slapped with a human world federal charge of kg and causing grievous
bodily harm, due to taking her across several states against her will. It was a federal case.
Although he had not actually laid a hand on her, the men who he‟d sent for her had
injured her, but so severely that the charge was laid against him, due to that they were
under his orders. He‟d shaken his head, bloody humans.

He had informed them he didn‟t know the men, and they had bolted already. When in
reality, he had sent them home to bury their son and brother, he had paid them more
money due to the death of the man. He had not expected Jay-la to fight so hard, let
alone kill a wolf in an attempt to get away. But he should have known it. She was a
warrior‟s daughter and had trained with him and his unit most of the time. The girl could
take care of herself.

But he had also not known that she was desperately trying to get back to her 3 children,
who he had not known about and separated her from. It was no wonder she fought so
hard, killed in an attempt to get away, and refused to come home at all.

The FED‟s had produced the video footage of her k!ll!ng, the photographic evidence of
all her wounds once she had, when she‟d gotten away from him and run straight into
the arms of human law enforcement. She had been str!pped down to her und*rwear and
he‟d gotten to see the state of her right hip, bruised and ripped open and her chest
covered in dark bruising and many scratches from where she had been unceremoniously
tossed out of the van and onto the ground unable to protect herself from the sudden
impact due to having her hands bound behind her.

He had found it extremely difficult and hard to keep Havoc‟s growls and snarling at bay
at those officers in-charge of questioning him, with the way they had worded
everything, made everything sound as though he had injured her himself and on
purpose at that.

Havoc had wanted to rip them apart for accusing him of hurting our Mate. Nathan‟s
legal department was on it, and though he had gotten bail in no time, he had spent the
day behind human bars, he had to hand over his passport and agree not to leave the
state, annoying since his Mate was now on the other side of the country. None of the
humans in his shared cell had come near him.

His wolf had been so close to the surface the whole time that they feared him right
away. Havoc was ready to rip through them all for the slightest bit of disrespect from
them, it had only made Nathan smile to be honest, Humans were so afraid of him and
all he had to do was glare at them.

Though the 2 officers questioning him had smelled of fear they had not shown it, he
could see why they were good at their jobs, could portray confidence and authority
even when scared of the man in front of them, a couple of times when he had really
struggled to contain.

Havoc and his anger had shown on his face, he‟d seen them both back into their chairs
slightly and eye him wearily, the only reason they were alive was because they were in
the human world, if this had happened on his territory he doubt Havoc would have
allowed them to survive.

In his cell he had paced back and forth. Havoc did not like being caged in a cell at all,
the 3 humans in the cell with him had stayed along the back wall well away from him,
Havoc had turned and growled at them once, and they all had gone wide-eyed and
bolted to the back and stayed there, fear flowed freely off of them the whole time he
had been in the cell with them.

1 day behind bars was worth it, it would show Jay-la and Kora he was willing to take
punishment for her treatment, even though at the time she had not known they were
her Mate, he was Sorry for her treatment, the injuries sustained to her, and the
separation from her pups.

Getting to her was the new problem. If he attempted to take her or her three pups how,
the humans would be all over him again. Dear goddess, how was he going to handle
that? Three pups… he had yet to lay eyes on them. Had no idea how old they were,
whether they were boys or girls. Hell he didn‟t even know if they were half-human or
wolfen for that matter. If they were half human could he ever bring them in, what about
their human father.‟ f**k this is a nightmare‟.
He did know she had had them in the human world, because she had certainly not come
to the pack hospital to birth them on each occasion. She‟d been all alone to deal with it.

When he had sent for her, he had not even thought about whether or not she had
found a Mate, gotten married to a human or had had a family, children. He‟d seen her
on TV and Havoc had insisted on bringing her home, no if‟s and‟s or but‟s. It was a must.

Havoc had finally coughed up the truth to Nathah, that when they had seen her on TV,
he had felt that he mised her, it had put an ache into his heart, and when he had heard
her speak, her soft but confident tones a desperate need to be near her had fallen over
him.

The desire to be with her filled him so quickly and deeply that he wanted to once again
have her right next to him. A need that burned inside him so strongly he couldn‟t ignore
it. Not that he had told Nathan at the time, might have solved a few problems in the
way he‟d brought her in.

Nathan might have actually gone to her in person, might have, though it was likely not,
he‟d probably still have sent Jackson or Stephen maybe. He had hurt her that day and
who was to say she would even see him.

He could have gone and apologised for what he had done to her 6 years ago, though
now he knew that the minute he would have come face to face with her they would
both have know what they were to each other and problem solved, or at least he liked
to think so. His current daydream. Her currently being a single mum of three had shaken
him, but he would have dealt with it.

It had been a week since this news had come to him, completely out of the blue,
everyone in the room had been utterly shocked by her announcement, his dad, his Beta
and he himself had all been completely unaware and her sudden begging and bringing
them up had him feeling very guilty indeed.

He had not done a full investigation of her, prior to having her collected, he‟d simply
tracked her address from her company and that had been it, it hadn‟t even crossed his
mind that she wouldn‟t be alone out there.
He was now a little concerned about Eric Stanton‟s relationship with his Mate, what if
that human was her man. He was feared and respected in the human world, someone
who could not only look out for her and protect her, use all his human resources to get
her back at all cost, which he had proved he was already willing to do, he had acted very
quickly in her favour.

There was something going on there. If her children were his, there was going to be
trouble, she would not likely leave them behind, and he couldn‟t see Eric giving them up
not to the man who had just kidnapped her and, in his opinion, brutalised her.

Nathan had already looked into the man himself. He was 45, fit for his age, did Tia Kwon
Don and had a black belt, so he could put up a fight, though Nathan knew he would be
no match for him or Havoc. The man was a well respected and a feared prosecutor, he
was liked in the human society around him, was wealthy, and the CEO of a prestigious
Law Firm.

He was no longer married, had once been, but divorced 10 years earlier. He was
considered good looking, he had short blonde hair and grey eyes, with a square jaw line,
his build was good, but only by human standards. Nathan was twice as fit and boasted
way more muscle. But if he was Jay-la‟s man he could see why. Power and protection
were a must for a lone she-wolf. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

Who was to say they weren‟t seeing each other and it just wasn‟t public knowledge
outside, it could be the reason she did her internships at his company and then started
working for him right out of university after passing her Bar Exam.

Nathan couldn‟t find anywhere that they had actually worked on any cases together.
They did work from the same building and she would be attracted to him and his power.
That thought elicited a low growl from Havoc‟ Down boy‟ Nathan smiled „once she
scents us, it wil be all over for any man she is with, Kora won‟t stand for others touching
her once she knows, and you kkow it.

Another growl came from his beast, he did not like even thinking about another wolf or
human touching what was his. But right now she was gone, had vanished for the past 7
days, she had gone somewhere and he didn‟t think it would be a hotel, not when she
had kids. Likely gone to the children‟s fathers place of residence if they didn‟t live
together, hell this could have pushed them to move in together.
Though he had surveillance on Eric Stanton‟s home, she was not there or if she was no-
one had seen her and she was inside away from prying eyes. It was annoying and
worrying to not know where she was.

Nathan‟s legal team were pushing for him to do a press conference in order to help him
out in the human world, and clear his name, he was actually standing in the middle of
his office reading itor supposed to be, but his mind kept wandering, how could it not
when he didn‟t know where she was.

It wasn‟t that bad a statement it would have him admit to sending men to collect her,
but that he had not in way shape of form instructed them to hurt her. He was to
formally apologise, not an issue he was willing to do that, and claim that he‟d only
wanted to talk to her, that he would like to have mediation with her regarding what had
happened. His legal team had advised him that the quickest way to deal with the human
charges against him was to get them dropped altogether. If he could convince Jay-la to
agree to let them be dropped, that would be the end of it.

The question was. Could he get her into the same room as him for mediation, she would
likely have to come this way due to the human world restrictions placed on him, not that
he cared about those. If it came to it, he would ignore them altogether. His Mate was
more important than some restrictions on his movement around the human world.

Jay-la was afraid of him, that much he knew, the words she‟d heard him say over the
phone would have her clearly believe he didn‟t care about anything that happened to
her, when in actual fact he did care, more than she could comprehend at this moment in
time.

Just walking into a room with him would clarify a lot, but the way he had brought her in,
the injuries she had sustained, was going to cause doubt even if she scented him. T hey
would have to Work on trust, or he would, he loved her already, couldn‟t wait to be her
Mate. She had always been fun and playful with him during their love affair.

Due to the anger and aggression that had been pouring out of Havoc at the sight of her
injuries and her dishevelled state she could only have mistaken his anger for what she
probably thought it was, her refusal to come home and her utter defiance at all his
requests.
Alpha‟s orders wele law and no one was supposed to igrore them, and she had defied
him at every turn. Stubborn she-wolf, he smiled to himself.

He also didn‟t know if Jay-la knew his previous Mate-bond was Over, done and dusted
and that he was glad it was. If she didn‟t then stepping into a room with him was going
to cause quite a shock to her and Kora. Nathan also believed right at this moment, the
only thing he had going for him was their past relationship. Before Sophia. And he
would use it if he had too, anything to gain her trust, He was hoping that Kora would be
able to sway Jay-la. He‟d already dealt with Jay-la without Kora. She was scared of him.

Kora‟s bond with Havoc he was certain would be instant and strong. They had known
each other a long time. Kora was a cheeky wolf and Havoc had enjoyed hunting her and
tracking her when she was hiding from him and the boys to tease them. He had also
enjoyed pouncing on her, not that he and Kora had ever done anything, wolves stayed
out of human Counterpart relationships unless it was their fated mate. But they had
gotten along and been playful with each other. She was a pretty wolf to. He‟d never
seen anything like her wolf.

Havoc purred at the thought of Kora now, her shinny silver/white coat, the pretty grey of
her snout and feet, she wasn‟t a large wolf or hadn‟t been average size, but she had
been amazingly fast and he had like being the only one who could catch her, she always
got Havoc to really push himself and put everything into the chase. Not something he
had to do often.

Chasing her around their pack was going to be good fun, only pouncing on her would
mean something different altogether now.

His attention was dragged away from internal thoughts by Jackson as he got off the
phone with a sigh that sounded part annoyed part worried. He‟d yet to question Jackson
about if he had feelings for Jay-la, though he was certain he did, he knew that Jackson
would never betray him.

“A boy and twin girls it looks like, about a year apart from Pete‟s judgement, he just laid
eyes on her. No photo, just a quick glance in the car as she drove into the secured car
park of her building. The 3 in the back seat”
Havoc whined in his mind, „someone gave her pups, that was our job, someone beat us
to it.‟

Nathan sighed, he too felt a little lost at the news she had used the word family, but
none of them had found a human marriage license or certificate with her name on it, so
it didn‟t appear she was married.

“Did she Come home alone?” he asked, not really wanting to know the answer in truth if
it was a no.

“Yes boss, just her and the 3 pups.”

“Are hey púps? Or are they human?” he mused Out loud. No-one in the room even
attempted to answer him. Jackson knew him better than anyone, and would have picked
up on his tone. Stephen, his Gamma, sat silently staring at a computer screen. He‟d
barely said a single word in a week.

Once he had informed his most trusted, Jackson, Stephen and Ethan. His Gamma
Stephen, the one he‟d entrust her safety too when he wasn‟t around, had stared at him
for a full minute, then had just turned around and walked away and as of yet, no one
knew the man‟s thoughts. He would talk when he was
ready. He had been chasing her with Jackson to try and stop her from leaving the pack
territory but had failed. It was possible he had guilt over her getting away, Considering
as the Gamma it was ingrained into his every fibre to protect the Luna with his life.
Ethan, his Delta had simply sighed and shook his head, then said “Well, what are we
doing about getting her back then?”

To his dislike, his father had informed his mother and siblings. His mother had stomped
into his office very angrily, glaring right at him and he knew instantly he was in trouble,
nothing like a mother‟s displeasure at something her child had done wrong, the child
could always tell, this moment had been just like that for him. He had raised his hands in
a gesture of surrender and he‟d state “I know,I did wrong. but that had not stopped her
from storming across the room and starting to slap him about anywhere she could,
while he tried to block the hits.

Havoc had stayed out of it, she was the only woman in his world who could get away
with hitting him, well probably 1 of 2 now. His father had pulled her away and calmed
her down. He‟d Simply apologized to which she‟d stated flatly “it‟s not me you need to
apologise to son.” At his agreed response, she had stormed off out of his oftice, and his
father had followed. Nathan knew his father was trying to calm her down further.

Later on he okayed the press conference and allowed it to be set up with human
reporters. He designated the spot as to the front of the packs Architecture Firm, just
45min from pack borders, then set about adjusting then wording and response of his
official statement to the press. He would be taking minimal questions and he would stay
on topic only.

It was the next day that he received the shock of his life. His father walked into his office
and dropped a photograph on his desk right in front of him. “The boy is definitely
yours,” he had stated, sounding very annoyed, jabbing a finger at the boy in the
photograph.

It was a picture of 3 children, a boy and twin girls, looked to be about 4 and 3
respectively. The date on the bottom of the photograrh showed it had been taken a year
ago. His heart ached terribly at the sight of them, they looked so happy all playing at the
beach laughing up at the camera, probably Jay-la taking the photo.

The boy had his arms around the girls, he could see the boys‟ fingers were digging into
their sides, he was tickling them and they were all laughing. All three of them had her
jewel green eyes and were shiny with joy and happiness, but all of them had his blonde
hair. Goddess the boy looked just like him when he was that age.

Havoc was growling in his mind, racing around like he was ready to rip out of him „Ours.
he snarled at him. Nathan felt the drawing to them, and couldn‟t tear his eyes from
them.

“They are all mine,” Nathan replied without hesitation, he trusted Havoc‟s opinion 100%,
he felt drawn to the 2 girls in the photo as much as he did the boy. His heart ached so
badly and when he touched his fingers to the photo pain seared through him. f**k what
had he done.

Did she know that day? She had been begging him for just 2 minutes of his time, but he
and Havoc had just found their fated mate and he‟d not cared about anything else at all,
hadn‟t wanted her touching him at all to be honest, recalled glaring at her touch,
something he had enjoyed not more than 3 days earlier, the day before he had met his
fated mate actually.

Had she been trying to tell him? f**k.

Had Kora only responded the way she had in order to protect her pups, his pups. f**k.
And he‟d sent her away, pushed his Alpha order at her without a single thought about
the Consequences, due to his mate‟s injury. „This is a Nightmare‟.

„We have to fix it‟ Havoc whimpered at him, guilt, regret and sadness washing over him,
he‟d been just as responsible for what happened to her that day, he‟d been present to
assist in giving the order, He‟d lost so much that day and didn‟t even know it, shunned
her and never thought about her again if he was completely honest with himself, neither
of them had until the day they‟d seen her on the TV, so full of life and confidence.

“All of them son?” his father questioned him, his tone very quiet.

“Yes. Havoc is of the same opinion. Triplets.”

“You, have really messed up. You know that right.”

“Yes.” he sighed “I‟llfind a way to fix it, we‟ll get her back, and she‟ll know what we are to
her.”

“Not going to be easy son.” his father stated flatly, then left the room closing the door
behind him. he was about to get the biggest beating of his life and he was going to
have to take it, they were her grand babies, and she‟d not gotten to see them born,
never gotten to hold them, spoil them or watch them grow up.

All the things she would have wanted, all the things he wanted, and he‟d royally screwed
up. Gut-wrenching guilt was eating away at him. Goddess help me to not die when she
comes for me.

His most trusted friends were all in his office. They had been sitting around discussing
protection detail for her, who was going and what to set up officially in the human
world. None of them said anything, they were all just staring at him. He could feel their
eyes on him yet he couldn‟t even look at them in return. Too much guilt for sending her
away and in such a delicate condition. A condition she‟d had to deal with on her own.

She had been friends with all of them all their lives, a year younger than him and
Jackson but the same age as Stephen and Ethan. She had trained with them due to her
father‟s rank as top warrior and he was the one training them too. Then when Kora had
come along so darn fast mo one could keep up with her, she‟d fit into their group
without issue even though she was a girl she had never had a problem, rough housing
with therm or teasing and playing with them.

She was just one of the group. Made them all laugh many times, now it was all very
wrong. He‟d done this, split her apart from the group, from all of them, sent her away
and they‟d all lost a friend that day due to his actions and thoughtlessness, and now the
utter devastation of his decision was finally revealed to him.

He had lost his childhood friend, his one-time love interest and his children, who had
not even been known to him. He doubted very much they knew who he was. Did she
even tell them what they were? Growing up in the human world, it could be that she had
never mentioned wolfen society to them, it was a secret to be kept from humans, was
she raising them human? Probably due to his order to never come back.

He saw movement in the corner of his eye and finally looked at Jackson, Stephen and
Ethan. They were all walking towards him, he Wondered how Havoc would handle them
trying to beat the life out of him. Havoc was quiet. Probably wouldn‟t interfere, they did
deserve it, though being the Alpha was unlikely to happen, he guessed, even if they
were his childhood friends, respect must be given or punishnment would be dealt out.

They all walked behind his desk and looked at the photo in his hand. He had yet to put
it down, a part of him couldn‟t. His children, his heir‟s to the Pack. Out there for all this
time completely cut off from the pack and its protection, unprotected and he solely
responsible for it. How could he blame her for any of this, goddess he was going to
have to beg for forgiveness at some point, she would never forget what he had done or
how she had to be on her own with them all this time, how he had been the one to
cause her to leave.

“Cute pups.” Jackson stated calmly.

“Must be a handful, 3 alpha pups all at once.” Ethan mused aloud with a half laugh.

Stephen said nothing at all, still silent on the subject of Jay-la being his Alpha‟s mate
and now mother to his Alpha‟s pups. Still no one knew what was going on inside his
head. Rafe had yet to emerge either.

Chapter 11

Jay-la POV

She was called to the conference room on Eric‟s floor of the building, it was 11 in the
morning and she had been back at work for just 2 days and she had been diligently
trying to catch up on her case load.

Although most of her clients had been very understanding of her situation as it was very
public knowledge what had happened to her, Eric had published one of her photos of
her injuries sustained. She hadn‟t been all that happy about it and had only allowed the
one where she was still fully clothed, the original photo of how she looked upon being
rescued, before the police had stripped her down to document all the injuries.

Reporters were still camped outside her office building to try and get an interview with
her, to which she had so far refused. As she walked into the conference room she saw
not only Eric Stanton seated at the table but also all the senior partners of the Law Firm.
She drew in a steady breath when they all turned to look at her, some had pity in their
eyes, others had admiration and a few didn‟t seem to concerned at all. Eric nodded to
the seat next to him, she walked over and sat down as was directed. “what‟s going on?”
she asked him quietly.

“Mr Browning is about to hold a live broadcast press Conference, we as your attorney‟s
were informed by his attorneys to watch it. It‟s about your case against him.” He
informed her.

Jay-la froze, this was not going to be good, why was he even responding in the human
world way, no wolf cared for that stuf. If it wasn‟t wolfen society then it didn‟t matter.
She had in all honesty thought he would just sever her tie with the pack and then let his
Pack lawyers śort it all out for him. Not wanting to deal with her in the human world,
currently she actually felt safe, for if she suddenly went missing again or anything
happened to her, it would all point directly at her Alpha and he would be dragged back
into the human world spotlight of suspicion, be investigated again.

Jay-la knew he would not want that at all, this was likely going to be a blanket statement
from one of his packs legal team in order to placate human world public opinion. She
could only imagine his human world business‟s had taken a hit, that his stocks in his
companies had probably fallen as well, not that she was keeping track, in fact she had
refused to watch the news in the past 10 days since her ordeal.

Not wanting a reminder or recap of it, she had lived it, that was enough, and she didn‟t
want her children to have to see her in that state again.

The TV was turned on and to her surprise she watched as he strode toward the podium
set up, outside the front of one of his business‟s.

Behind him in the background all wearing immaculate dark grey suits with black shirts
and red ties, pack official colours, were Jackson, Stephen and Ethan. As he walked
directly towards the podium she could see his muscles straining against his suit, he was
wearing a black suit with pinstripes probably grey she couldn‟t tell from here, a dark
grey vest overa black dress shirt, that matched the boys suits and a red tie, his Alpha
dress code.

Kora stood to attention her ears pricked up instantly and she too was watching. She had
not gotten to see him that day, having been kept forcibly avway due to the them being
drugged with wolfs-bane and the use of silver cuffs. She whined as she laid eyes on him
for the first time since leaving the pack. The father of her püps.

He was dressed to kill, that was for sure. No female reporter would ask him anything
that would incur his angry look directed at them and that was how he most likely
wanted it, he wanted all of them drawn to him she supposed, their lust and desire
eradicating any torrid questions that might make him unseemly to the public eye.
He was clean shaven and his hear neatly slicked back the way he liked to wear it. He
looked better with it slightly tussled she though absently, Kora agreed, Jay-la checked
herself.

„Stop looking at him, remember what he did to you:‟ she told herself internally also
reminding Kora she could feel that her wolf was more interested than she should be,
probably due to their connection through the triplets, but it must be kept in check.

He cleared his throat casually and tapped the microphone “l will make a short statement
this moning regarding Miss Jay-la Freeman and what happened between us.‟ he hushed
the reporters with a simple wave of his hand as several questions were yelled at him
from many reporters.

“Firstly I would like to apologise to my childhood friend. Yes, I have known Jay-la since
we were small children.”

He was trying to establish a friendly long-time relationship with her and gain the reports
trust she thought, sneaky bastard, but not to be unexpected. If she was his lawyer she
would have suggested as much.

“My apologies Jay-la… Yes, I did send for you to return to our hometown, I however, did
not order for you to be kidnapped, drugged or injured in any way at all.”

Jay-la snorted „yeah right‟ she thought „ I received that black envelope and the wolfs-
bane inside it. Your intent was clear. Very clear‟.

“I was also corńpletely unaware of your singłe mother status, as not having spoken to
you in 6 years. IfI had known you were a mother of 5-year-old triplets I would certainly
have never, ever, sent men to bring you home… I would have come myself, to your very
door.”

Fear was starting to creep into her every fibre, „he knows‟ he was speaking directly to
her, letting her know that he had fully investigated her and found out about the triplets,
her children. His children. Their children. That she had kept from him.

“I did send 3 letters prior to this particular unfortunate incident, to request that you
come home.” he went on “My intent was to simply discuss with you, your outstanding
debt to my family in regards to us having paid for your Law School Tuition. Which was
to be repaid by you by working in the Browning Corporations Law Department over the
course of the first 5 years -out of suhöol. Which you agreed to do and even signed a
contract for.”

Oh, his lawyers were good, they were trying to make it out that she was the one in
trouble not him, redirecting the reporters‟ focus to her and her outstanding debt that
she owed to him. Bastard.

He produced the document which she recognised as the pack agreement for her tuition
fees for 5 years‟ legal work with reduced wages to pay the money back.

“Due to the current circumstances and the unfortunate and terrible incident that has
happened, which deeply upsets me, I would like to take this opportunity to try and offer
an olive branch to you. First, this contract, gone „she watched as he tore it in half you
owe me nothing, I consider your monetary debt repaid. I would not wish to cause you
any more grief or by forcing you to repay this sum of money.”

“Secondly,I would like us, you and I, to sit down and mediate the current issue between
us, please take into consideration our long standing friendship Jay-la.. You know very
well I never laid a hand on you.

Your statement on record says as much. You fully acknowledged that all harm that was
done to you, was by the men who took you against your will.

“Thirdly, I would like the opportunity to personally apologise to your children for any
distress, or mental trauma they may have suffered due to your disappearance or your
current injured state upon returning home. I am certain they were very upset and
distressed and I would like to personally assure them I am of no threat to you or them
for that matter, none whatsoever.”

Jay-la noted that his eyes never left the camera in front of him, a shiver ran down her
spine, he was speaking directly to her, letting her know he wanted to come for his
children, her precious babies.
Not going to happen. If he forced the situation, it would all back fire on
him, and the humans would all bad mouth him again, for they had human birth
certificates and
“I‟Il take questions now.” he informed the reporters.

“You said you grew up as childhood friends? Is that actually true?” a reporter yelled from
the crowd.

“Yes, Jay-la and I were once very close, indeed.” he smiled that devastatingly handsome
smile of his, that could make any she-wolf or human woman‟s heart melt and she didn‟t
miss the insinuation in his voice that belied they had had more then a friendship,
implying with one sentence they were lovers.

“How close?” another reporter yelled out, a female voice.

“We dated for a time, just over a year if my memery šerves me correctly.” his mouth
Twitched at the corner a suggestive smile.
“Then how could it come to this? kg and grievous bodily harm you‟re charged with,
yes?” a male reporter yelled.

His smile was gone in an instant, “Correct, those are the charges:” he did not deny it.

However, I would like Jay-la and| to sit down and mediate the matter as it is not what it
seems. It is all a simple misunderstanding that can be resolved with common sense.” He
looked right at the camera “Jay-la, please agree to meet me. All your lawyers are
welcome. I will agree to any time and place that suits your schedule” He then simply
stepped away from the podium and walked away.

Jay-la watched as Jackson, Stephen and Ethan all followed him back into the building
and out of sight.

Many eyes in the room turned to look at her. She knew what they wanted to know, so
she answered them “Yes, we went out for a while, it ended badly.” she stated flatly, for it
had ended verý badly. She had lost everything and he had gained everything. Even right
now he was trying to take more from her, she wondered if he had told his Luna yet, or if
she was still in the dark about his 3 pups.
The TV was turned off, Jay-la got up and walked away. She wished she‟d never had to
watch his press conference, he had used his s**x appeal and his charm to sway the
crowd, probably filled it with female reporters at his request. He knew he was
devastatingly handsome and would use that to his advantage. All wolves do, it‟s how
they got away with things in the human world charm and s**x appeal.

Due to the constant training, most wolves had the body type desired by all humans.
Trim taught and terrific, or muscled up to the hilt is what she heard most humans say.
Humans as well as wolves loved a good six or eight pack abdomen and deeplines thát
dropped off down into their jeans. Drool worthy.

She walked into her office and stood staring out the window. It was an overcast day and
there was no sun shining. God matches my mood she thought absently.

She was not simply going to give up her children to him „No Kora agreed. She turned at
the sound of her door closing and found Eric Stanton walking towards her. She knew
she had left the conference room before they were done with their questions but she
just didn‟t want to deal with it, with him to be honest.

“Did I miss something? Or did I read between the lines correctly?” he stated without
hesitation. Staring directly into her eyes.

“Now that depends on what you read between the lines, Eric” Jay-la said calmly, he was
no fool and she was certain he had picked up on the underlining tone of the press
conference. Her children.

“Is Nathan Browning the triplets‟ father?” Eric asked as direct as always. His grey eyes
bonng into hers daring her to lie to him.

“Yes” she stated honestly, “I told you before I was kicked out at 20, that he was the one
to remove me from the corporation. I didn not know I was pregnant at the time.”

“Why didn‟t you tell him when you found Out?”

“He was getting married when he kicked me out.” she shrugged “I didn‟t want to ruin
that, that is not who I am. Ihonestly was happy for him.”
Eric stared at her for a long moment. “If you didn‟t know you were pregnant, you can‟t
have been that far along, and you said he was getting married.. how long between your
relationship with him and hers with him?”

Trust Eric to pick up on that. “Il be totally honest with you, he broke up with me and was
engaged to her within a matter of a day.” She siğhed, it had been that quick, but in the
wolfen society that‟s just how it was. Once you found your Mate, nothing else mattered.

Eric stared at her completely shocked now. “No wonder it ended badly. I guess you did a
lot of yelling and screaming.”

“No actually, I didn‟t, we weren‟t serious. I knew that, but unfortunately she slapped me
in the face and I slapped her back. Hence not a good ending.” she shrugged again. She
had spoken the truth.

“hmm..” he was thinking, his arms now folded across his chest, it was a good minute
before he spoke again “So what response do you want to make?” he returned to his
original reason for coming to her office.

“I don‟t know yet” she walked over and sat down behind her desk “Ineed to think
about it.”
“Do you think he‟s going to order a paternity suit?”

“I doubt it”. It was clear he had no doubts about the triplets being his, a paternity suit
was necessary.

“A custody battle then?”

Jay-la sighed heavily and rubbed her temples, „not in the human world‟ she thought.

„No, he‟ll just come along and claim what is his regardless‟ Kora piped up.

„I know Kora, its just a matter of time. Unless we play hardball and stay publicly in the
human world‟.
„Then stay we will. Hardball it is‟ Kora huffed, clearly willing to fight for her pups, even
against an Alpha. Kora was just as defiant as Jay-la was herself, she and her wolf were
well suited to each other.
“Jay-la?” Eric‟s voice interrupted her internal dialogue with her wolf.

“l don‟t know, he‟ll probably wait for my response before making a decision. He is very
careful in his decision-making process and he will be tactical in his approach. He‟ll want
to make sure it‟s all in his favour before starting a battle of any kind.”

“Give it a day..or 2 or 3, to come up with a response to his press conference.”

Jay-la chuckled “Make him sweat, you mean?”

“Yes, let him get annoyed and aggravated, it might just show his true colours to
everyone watching.”

“Alright, I will think up a response.” She nodded and watched as Eric walked out of her
office.

„Just don‟t piss him off Jay-la‟ Kora huffed „this is a battle, but technically we can‟t win it‟

„I know. He‟s an Alpha and has all the power in wolfen society, but Kora, we are in the
human world and only so much weight can he throw around without outing our kind.‟

„Do you really want to go to battle with him? Kora asked and Jay-la could feel the worry
ebbing off her wolf, she was currently pacing around in her mind as she tried to decide
what course of action she would agree to go along with.

Chapter 12
Nathan POV

3 days passed before he got to see his Mate on TV, 3 long days for her to respond to his
press conference. It was 1930 his time, 1630 hers, end of the day for her. He wondered if
that was on purpose, arg probably.

Nathan was under no illusion as to whether she understood that he knew about the
triplets being his, he had made that very clear to her. No one else may have picked up
on it. Only wolves themselves would understand the importance of an Alpha stating
he‟d have gone right to her door, and his personal assurance to her children that he was
of no threat to them.

But to the humans watching, he just looked like a man knowing he was in deep trouble
and trying to dig his way out of a hole.

There was a podium set up out the front of Stanton & Co Law Firm. A whole team of
lawyers were lined up behind it. He counted 10 and Eric was not among them he noted.
He was sitting in his office along with Jackson, Stephen, Ethan and both his parents.

A loud growl came from Havoc the moment he saw her. Eric Stanton was walking right
next to her and his hand was on the small of her back. He looked extremely close and
cosy with her. Barely an inch between them was this his way of laying claim to her in
view of the public.

Nathan didn‟t know, but he too did not like it either and Havoc was stalking around in
circles, ropeable at seeing even a human males hands on his Mate.

It didn‟t help that she was dressed very provocatively as far as they were concerned, she
was wearing a black silk blouse that clung to her body in all the right places as the wind
pressed it against her slender waist and ample br_easts, br_easts he knew fit perfectly
into the palm of his hands, and that bloody black and red checker-ed skirt, skin tight all
the way down to the bottom of her backside, then fell into pleats that were maybe 3
inches long, the pleats flicked up as she walked leaving her legs bare for all to see from
her high thigh area all the way down to the black stiletto‟s she wore. Pack colors her
realised.

Her make up was perfect for her, lightly done, showing her natural beauty, her supple
l!ps a dark purplish pink hue that made him want to just k!ss her until it was all gone. He
just wanted to reach up into her hair that was wound tight into a bun and yank her hair
loose, pulling her head back roughly with a fist full of her hair, making her pretty mouth
gasp open for him to r****h and possess like never before.

Havoc was prowling and snarling in his mind knowing every man could see what was
his, knowing they were thinking about touching her, probably more than touching her,
she should never dress like that except for him. She would understand that when they
got their hands on her, skirts that short were a no no unless in their bedroom.
Eric walked her all the way to the podium. Then leaned down and spoke directly into her
ear, his l!ps brushing against the skin, Havoc wanted to rip the TV off the wall and
destroy it right there. She turned and smiled up at him, a genuine smile, a happy smile,
Nathan‟s fists balled on his knees. He wanted to punch that man as much as Havoc
wanted to rip his head off. She should only ever smile like that for him, not some bloody
human male.

She turned to the crowd and nodded, the smile disappearing‟ Thank you all for coming
today. I would like to make a personal response to Mr Browning‟s statement from 3 days
ago I would like to ask you all hold any questions you may have until the very end. I will
answer 3 questions and nothíng that is pure speculation or only asked to create gossip.

Nathan couldn‟t help to smile, so very professional, she had clearly done this many
times before. He was very proud of her for attaining her law degree and commanding so
much respect. He‟d always known she bright and intelligent, that she would make a
great lawyer and he had told her as much when they had been friends and lovers. Told
her he knew she would make a great asset to the packs legal department. Sometimes
she had blushed at his compliments. Goddess, he wanted her back.

He refocused his thoughts as she took a deep breath to make her response, then those
jewel green eyes turned directly to the camera, just as he had done, so darn beautiful. “I
do not believe you meant me no harm Mr Browning, this letter you sent, with clear
intent.” she held up the black envelope addressed to her and the letter as well, he
recognized it right away.

“it states clearly, „I will have you brought in‟ and inside the letter was this vial.” She
produced the long cork-stoppered vial with the single wolfsbane flower in it, and tapped
it on the top of the podium gently, “to those watching today, this flower is known as
wolfs-bane and is poisonous, the drug that was detected in my system, force-ably
injected by the men who took me that day on your order, which you have admitted to
sending them to get me. Was in fact found to be wolfs-bane, the very same thing as this
flower” she tapped the vial on the top of the podium again, “sent by you, Mr Browning.”

He was frowning now, this was not how he had thought this was going to go at all. Did
he even want to hear the rest? Probably not, but he would not miss the opportunity to
see her with his own eyes no matter what.
“As for the monetary debt to you and your family”, she held up a check. “I will pay it
back, this check for the full amount will be in the mail directly after this press
conference, and my legal team.” she indicated to the men standing behind her “have
even calculated any interest owing and it has been added, as my way of showing you l
mean to be free and clear of you, no lingering debt, period.”

Havoc was snarling now. He was very unhappy with this term of phrase, Nathan had to
remind him that she did not yet know they were her Mate.

“As for the mediation which you requested…l am not interested in hearing what you
have to say. The courts will decide if you are guilty of the charges laid against you. I
think that you know as well as I do, what happened.” „She tapped the vial on the podium
again “l also know that I did try to contact you within your 3-day time limit given to me.
My phone records will show as much. I also believe you know this to be the truth as well,
as I called the number on this tetter, your right-hand man, Jackson, picked up the phone
if l recall correctly.”

“l am also not interested in you personally meeting my children to apologise to them. I

would advise you to stay away from me and my children, deal directly with my legal
team. I believe you know of Eric Stanton by now. He is the head of my legal team.”

Eric stepped forward to the podium. “Please direct all further questions, queries or
statements to me personally, please Mr Browning, any further harassment of my client
will only add extra charges to the list you already have.” He then stepped back.

“I‟ll answer 3 questions now, if you have any” she offered to the gathered crowd. He
heard many questions yelled at her. She would have the opportunity to pick and choose
which to answer.

The first she chose to answer Did you really grow up with Mr Browning, within the
Browning Corporatión?. What a useless question Nathan thought. She had produced a
check to repay him. It was clear she had, it was a question that didn‟t need clarification,
and she knew it. Smart girl, one question completely wasted by the reporters.

“Yes I did.” the second question she answered “why did you leave and not return to
fore-fill your
contract?”
“I was told to leave by Mr Browning himself, and told not to come back, ever… I simply
obeyed his order.” this answer allowed the crowd to feel that she had no debt to fore-
fill, he supposed, making it seem as though he was in the wrong again.

The third question, “Miss Freeman, do you really believe he meant to harm you?”

“Unfortunately, yes I do.” there was an actual hint of sadness in her voice, that reached
her jewel green eyes. They seemed to dull somewhat with her reply. It hurt him deeply
to know she really believed he would harm her. His ch3st ached.

Nathan sighed, Havoc was furious. So her stance is to defy him yet again and very
publicly in the human world, where it is hard for him to get to her right now, this very
moment, due to current circumstances.

Jay-la looked directly at the camera and sighed heavily “Mr Browning, if you would like
to formally remove me from your corporation, go ahead. I will find another to affiliate
with,” then she simply turned and walked away, Eric right there beside her, his hand on
the small of her back again, and her 10 men legal team followed.

He could feel all eyes on him. Jay-la was indeed outright defying him. She had just told
him to sever her from the pack and she would find another to join in. Did she even know
how dangerous that would be for her and their pups?

Yes, any pack could take them in, then kill him and is pups, or spend years harming
them, torturing them or e*e them, using them to hurt him.
If they got wind that she was his Mate, she would suffer the worst fate. He could not
have that.

“I want round-the-clock warriors at her apartment building. I want the pups watched at
their school as well, no interference for now, unless danger arises.” he stated flatly, he
would protect what was his even if he wasn‟t allowed to do it himself. He would send
everything to protect them.

This was extremely serious and dangerous. For such an intelligent person how could she
be so bloody stupid? Any wolf watching this event unfold in the human world would
understand exactly what she had meant, his enemies would all be creeping out of the
woods to try and entice her to them.
Would she even know who they were? Who to avoid altogether? He doubted it.

Jackson was already on the phone, as was Stephen.

It was the first time Stephen had spoken in weeks in front of Nathan, his Gamma blood,
he guessed, was boiling in his veins, his need to protect her and the future heirs to the
pack outweighing whatever had kept him quiet all this time.

“Son!” he heard his father‟s voice.

“I know,” he said in reply, trying to keep fear for his Mate and pups out of his voice. “I
can sort it out. I‟ll fix it.” he muttered. Havoc was not happy, he didn‟t believe he could
fix it. „I fix it.‟ He snarled inside Nathan‟s mind „Just need to go to Kora‟

„Might not work Havoc, she‟s truly upset at us. She needs time to calm down. We have
to
plan to keep them safe then make a decision about bringing her ín again, and how to
do it so the human world doesn‟t see it as another k****g and send the FED‟s again.
Might take some time buddy. I won‟t give up. I want her back too.‟
„Promise?‟ his beast asked.

„I swear to you Havoc by the goddess, I will get her back, she will recognize us as her
Mate and everything will fall into place.

“Son, you know your mother and I have to go away to help your brother deal with his
human Mate and her very stubborn family.”

“Yes go… I‟ll be fine.”

“Nathan!” his mother touched his shoulder “we‟ll try to see her, we‟ll be out that way.”

“Thanks, I‟d appreciate that.” he truly would. If anyone could talk her down and bring
sense back to her, it would likely be his mother, who still held Luna‟s rank in the pack.
His pack wolves were still attracted to her and wanted to take comfort from her and
listen to her advice.
His father would be the other person she would listen to, he was the Alpha she trusted,
the man she had gone to and begged and pleaded for help when she was here last, had
even shown him her pups through his gift, a risk that he would recognise them right
away, a risk she had been willing to share with him in order to save herself. She trusted
him.

Other than her own parents, his were probably the best option to help in this horrid
situation, which was getting worse by the minute it seemed. With every move he made,
it seemed the more defiant his Mate became.

„I will punish Mate, when she comes home‟ Havoc growled.

„You will not, we need her happy and feeling safe‟ Nathan shot back at him instantly.
Havoc punishing her was not a good idea. When his beast was angered, everyone
suffered.

„I will su*ck her good and proper.‟ Havoc chortled.

Nathan relaxed and couldn‟t help but laugh internally at his wolf „She might like that
punishment‟.

Havoc snorted at him „Want to hear Mate‟s voice.‟

„Me too. Nathan nodded, but would she pick up? Only one way to find out, he thought,
she had to know after that last statement to expect him to call. Would be expecting a
raging beast to scream at her down the line, he Supposed.

“Jackson, give me your phone, I need to talk to her” Jackson stared at him, he would
know why he was using Jackson‟s mobile, she would likely be screening for the pack
number. Nathan took the offered phone and it didn‟t surprise him that it read Jay-la. He
hit the dial button listened to it state, please check the number and dial again, the
number you have called is not in service. He frowned at it, handed the phone back.

Stephen looked directly at him “I‟m going to square away Jay-la and the pups protection
detail”, then simply left the office with long strides.
Ethan stood “I‟d better go and help him, he looks cranky and squaring away could mean
kicking their asses to make sure they‟re up to the task.” Nathan nodded Ethan could
very well be right.

That left just him and Jackson in the office.

“What a s**t show.”‟ Jackson sighed with a shake of his head.

“You‟re not kidding.” Nathan agreed with him, walked over and sat down on his desk,
turned to the legal documents from her office and found the company‟s phone number,
it was still office hours over there, barely. He dialed the number and asked to be put
through to Jay-la‟s sečretary to make an appointment. He was put on hold and saw
Jackson‟s questioning look.

“Pretence. I‟m certain all our names are being screened for:” He handed the phone over
to Jackson while on hold “She will likely talk to you rather than me.”

It took only a few minutes before he has actually put through to Jay-la herself. Her
secretary had caught his name and asked him to please wait on hold, didn‟t dismiss the
call or tell him to bugger off. Jackson hit the speaker button, not that it was necessary.
Nathan‟s Wolf‟s hearing was perfectly fine.

“Yes Jackson?” she simply asked. Nil hesitation in her voice. She knew they were going
to call.

“What do you think you are doing Jay-la, do you even know what you did today?” he
asked right back sternly but keeping all anger out of his voice.

“I didi‟t stárt this Jackson. He did. He was the one who informed any wolf out there who
happened to see his press conference that he had a weakness that could be exploited.”

Jackson frowned at her words. A weakness, this pups “You didn‟t help by declaring
yourself and the pups available for invitation into any pack that will accept you.”

“I‟m sure l will have plenty of offers rolling in, and quickly probably.” she sounded
slightly amused.
Nathan and Havoc were both angered by her flippant disregard for the safety of their
pups. “Damn it Jay-la.” he roared, unable to contain his beast or his own anger for that
matter, she really needed to understand the danger she had just put herself into.

The line disconnected before he could get anything else out.

Chapter 13

She sat in her leather chair in her office and waited. The game of hard ball had officially
started. He had stupidly outed his children to the wolfen society, so she had declared
herself a free agent that would entertain offers from other packs, and let the other packs
know that he had tried to harm her and that was why she needed a new place to go.

Not exactly the smartest thing to do, but she was sure to find a pack that either had no
connection to him or was affiliated and had an alliance of some sort so she could have
herself and the children protected. She would not have to tell him where she was either,
just pledge her allegiance to the new Alpha and his pack and then she would be gone
from him and his Luna, who just wanted to hurt and punish her.

Jay-la knew there was a call coming. She Was also pretty sure it wouldn‟t be him,
probably „Jackson, He was a smooth talker who could wheel and deal with the best of
them. It had taken all of 15 minutes. She had already told Jordan her secretary to put
him through but give her a quick heads up first. She took the call but hung up the
instant she heard her Alpha yell at her, full of rage and anger.

He would learn, she would not take his abuse anymore, would not be yelled at like that
day either.
Jay-la waited again, nowing full well that it was not over, Jackson would call back after
talking his Alpha down and his friend into shutting up for the next phone call.

It was a good 7 minutes before Jordan, her receptionist put the call through again. He
apologised stating that it must have been disconnected, somehow, Jay-la laughed at his
comment “don‟t apologise Jordan, I hung up on him and will likely do so again. But I will
not receive any more calls from him today. This will be the last one no matter how many
times he całls back”
“Okay Jay-la.” he apparently understood and seemed slightly amused.

Jay-la allowed Jackson to wait on hold a good 4 minutes before picking up again, “Now
that you know I will hang up at will, keep him under control and in check. I presume he
is still listening.” she was playing a deadly game, throwing out orders for an Alpha, but
he would learn she had rights, after all he had tossed her away.

“He is.” Jackson confirmed, sounding angered with her now. He was losing his
composure and clearly didn‟t like her attitude towards their Alpha. Unlike him, usually he
was cool, calm and collected, not the hot head. His Alpha was “If you hang up on me
again Jay-la l will get on the next flight out there, and be at your door before you know
it. Do you understand me?”

Jay-la frowned. She got the threat loud and clearly, but he‟d be in her world, not his
normal comfort zone, the rules were different here. “Is that so? Are you prepared to play
human Jackson. I‟ve been playing human for a very long time now, I don‟t think you can
do it, Apollo will hate it.” she smirked. He was a Beta and his wolf, Apollo was dominant
and would demand respect just as much as his Alpha‟s did.

She heard the growl and knew it was his wolf, Apollo. He was pissed right off, she had
challenged his wolfs control with her statement.

Jay-la had grown up with him, If he thought she didn‟t recall how to push all of their
buttons, he was sadly mistaken.

„Oh and if you think I haven‟t smelled a wolf here or there with pack scent on them since
l got back from..” she left it unsaid, allow them to wonder where she had been and who
with, she didn‟t care.

“KORA” she heard Havoc roar her wolf‟s name so loúdly she nearly jumped out of her
skip Kora nearly called his name back. Jay-la barely had time to disconnect the call
before Kora growled his name out of her, lucky she had her finger on the disconnect
button the whole time.

„He called to us‟ she whined „our Alpha‟ Yes, he wants to order you to bring your pups to
him, Kora.
„Maybe‟ she huffed.

„No, he has a Luna, Kora. Don‟t mistake his intent, and his Luna hates us, one that will
never tolerate our pups‟ existence. It‟s why we never told him in the first place,
remember.

„Yes‟ she huffed again, she did recall, and she remembered the pain of his tossing them
aside like a piece of garbage, he did not want them. Not her and Kora, just his pups,
nothing more. She was not willing, they were not willing to just hand them over and
walk away from being their mother, which is probably what he wanted.

It had been a long and stressful day, „time to go home and see our babies! She knew
that would make Kora happier. She loved her pups so much, being away from them
annoyed her some days more than others, and today she was itching to get back to
them and cuddle up with them on the couch and eat popcorn and watch a movie.

Yes, let‟s go: Kora agreed.

Home they went to do just that.

Jay-la stepped out of the elevator on the 12th floor of Stanton & Co Law Firm where she
worked, to find the scent of wolves on the floor, to find Jordan waiting for her right
there at the elevator. That was a bit of a surprise. He didn‟t normally wait for her here.
He also seemed anxious. “What‟s wrong, Jordan?” she asked.

“There are so many messages this morning directed afyourégarding your press
conference statement, and people calling still trying to get appointments with you. It‟s
kind of freaking me out to be honest.”

Jay-la laughed softly and so it begins “I was expecting this, just take one call at a time
and go with it okay Jordan, just breathe, Oh and don‟t tell Eric. I think he‟ll get very
angry.”

“Um Jay-la…” he said, walking behind her slightly as they finally moved from the
elevator and down the hall towards her office and his desk. Goddess had he already
informed Eric, if so, the man was likely in her office.
As she got to her office, there sitting on 2 of her waiting room chairs was none other
than Beta Jackson and Gamma Stephen. Ah no wonder Jordan was so nervous it was not
an angry Eric. It was 2 wolves.

They were both sitting there giving off aura‟s of power, Jackson glared right up at her.
She simply waited for Jordan to take a seat behind his desk. “How long havethey been
here?” she asked him.

“They came up with me at 8, I did tell them you don‟t get in till 9 today. They just sat
and didn‟t move. Haven‟t said a word the whole time.”

“Hmm” not to you, she thought to herself, probably been sitting here talking through
the mind link with each other the whole time they have been here. She took the stack of
messages he was holding out. She steadfastly refused to acknowledge either of them,
she stood flicking through the messages in a slow manner appearing unfazed by either
of them, there were many Pack Corporations requesting that she call them.

She turned to her office door, “Do you have an appointment?” she asked, glancing at
Jackson, knowing full well that he did not. Jordan would have informed her already if
they did.

He was wearing a suite and tie, looked every bit the professional business man as did
Stephen for that matter. She took in their appearances, they had gotten bigger in the
past 6 years, must be working out way more, she had not really taken much in on her
last visit to the pack too scared and terrified of the punishment that had been awaiting
her, to really get a good look at her old friends.

“No, but you will see me Jay-la.” he stated in a flat, no-non-sense tone, that implied he
was going to get his way due to being the Beta.

“I have court most of today, I suggest you make an appointment and come back for it.”
she turned to Jordan once more “is there available space in my schedule tomorrow?”
she didn‟t want a very pissed of Beta loosing it here so she would show some respect
and get him that appointment she had mentioned.

“1130 for 15 minutes.” He nodded at her after checking.

“Does that work for you?” she asked with a soft laugh and walked into her office and
closed the dõor she didn‟t really care if it didn‟t, this was her world and not theirs. She
had shown respect then dropped it away.

She headed to the court house and found they followed her, neither said a single word
to her, just sat in the back of the court room and watched her do her job and go head to
head with other lawyers on her client‟s behalf. At the end of the day, she returned home
to see them follow her there as well. Annoying indeed.

Even Kora was feeling smothered, they were so used to being able to do as they pleased
when they pleased, without any pack interference or supervision that this was
bothersome and annoying. She wondered for a moment if this was what it felt like to be
under police surveillance. She had not returned to her office after the last court session,
had simply gone home, getting there just on 5pm, surprising her babies and the nanny,
who got to go home early.

It was7pm when her intercom buzzed.

Jay-la fröwhed. She wasn‟t expecting anyone this evening. Tim hadn‟t called for a visit.
She shrugged and answered “Yes Jimmy.”

“Evening Jay-la, There are 2 people here that would like to come up?”

She sighed, probably Jackson and Stephen she thought, “Names please Jimmy?” She did
like this building. Jimmy was a diligent doorman and she could well imagine at this hour
the night security guard Carlton, would be standing by the front desk too.

“Jay-la it‟s Blaine and Darla, may we come up?” Alpha Blaine‟s deep rumbling voice was
heard through the intercom.

Jay-la was shocked, to say the least, she had not expected them to turn up here, at her
apartment. It could only mean that Nathan had told them about the triplets.

She was not prepared to deal with them at all. Biting her lip she was quiet for about 10
seconds, then drew in a long breath and steeled herself to do the one thing she had
never done before, deny them their request. “No, I‟m s orry” she said simply and as
politely as she could, hoping not to incur their wrath at this time.
“Jay-la honey please.” Luna Darla‟s voice came through the intercom softly, no hint of
anger or order in it. “we‟d just like to see our grandchildren is al.”

Jay-la closed her eyes, it truly wasn‟t all that bad a request, but how could she know
their true intentions, once up here in her apartment, alone with her and the pups, either
one of them could order her to hand them over, order her to do anything for that
matter. They could order her to hand them over and stay behind, effectively removing
her precious babies from her.

“I‟m sorry” she said again and actually meant it, truly did mean it, she was sorry for
denying them to see their grand pups. She shut the Intercom off, before guilt ate away
at her.

She reallydidn‟t know who to trust any more. FirstJackson and Stephen showed up and
now the former Alpha and Luna, he was really sending everyone.

He couldn‟t come himself due to human court orders currently restricting him from
leaving the state his pack was in. She also knew that his human world passport had to
be handed over, so no travelling outside the US either.

Eric had put conditions on him due to his wealth, stating the man was a flight risk due to
his money. He could go anywhere to get away from the charges against him. The courts
agreed. Eric was good at his job. Apparently, Nathan had handed them over and was
currently complying with human world restrictions.

Jay-la was about to order pizza for dinner when her phone rang. She glanced at it, Tim.
He was one of the few people who had her new unlisted number, she picked it up.

“Hey there.”

“Hi sweets, thought l‟d drop by with pizza for dinner”

“You‟re a life saver, I was actually just going to order pizza myself”.

“Great minds.” he laughed. Jay-la laughed too.

“How far away are you?”

“Just about to pull up outside your building.”

“Cheeky aren‟t you,” “You know it, sweets. See you in a bit.”

He arrived 10 minutes later, and as he was on her approved list of visitors he didn‟t have
to be buzzed up. He brought 4 pizza‟s with him, knowing her and the kids ate like
horses. It always amazed him how much they all ate, but he‟d gotten used to it. She put
the kids to bed around 9 and that just left her and Tim on the couch.

It was so nice to just snuggle on the couch within him, his arm was draped around her,
Kora seemed a little off by his presence tonight, but Jay-la put that down to a lot that
had been going on of late and today, especially what with Apollo and Rafe trailing them
everywhere they‟d gone, ever present with Jackson and Stephen.

It would only be natural for her to feel a little off with the wolves she used to hang out
with nearly every day of her life, probably making her feel nostalgic and out of sorts.

“Are you staying the night?” Jay-la asked casually, curious if he was here to have s‟x.
They hadn‟t in a while, actually not since her ordeal.

She was a little on the ansie side, and was okay with him staying for s‟x. Kora huffed and
retreated to the back of her mind.

“l‟d like to, but I have court in the morning and need to get up for an early start, not free
til Sunday in all honesty.”

“Okay” Jayia understood, she too had days where work exhausted her or she needed to
rest completely before she knew a huge day in court was ahead of her. Though he was a
prosecutor, his job was more demanding of his time and much more stressful than hers,
and although s`x was a good stress relief, she knew she could be very demanding in bed
and though Tim liked that about her, told her s*x was amazing, she knew he was always
utterly worn out by her needs to be satisfied and he could be tired all day the next day,
which left him feeling unable to do his job to the best of his ability.

She smiled up at him “Sunday then?”

He laughed at her, tapped her nose “Definitely Sunday”. He nodded “Wanna walk me
out?” he grinned at her.

Jay-la knew her children would be safe for 5 minutes while, she walked Tim out to the
front door and saw him off.

He slid his arms around her waist once they stepped out the front door to the building.
This was Tim‟s way of safely guarding himself from her s*xual needs. His mouth found
hers for a deep kiss. Kora rolled her eyes and turned away in her mind. Jay-la ignored
her, she had needs too, wanted to feel wanted and Tim did want her.

She felt his hands slide down her, over her body and grab her bottom, squeezing it, and
she pressed herself against him and ground her hips into his.

He groaned and she smiled against his lips “You know you want to.”

“Mm, I do…” he puled her harder against him and she sighed softly into his mouth, she
knew what he liked and her ansieness just increased with the feel of him getting hard
against her. He was turned on and she wanted that, to know she could make him want
her, that he did want her was a turn on for her.

“My sweet, please..I really do want to, but have a blgdayin court tomorrow.” he groaned
as she rocked herself against him harder, trying to convince him to stay. He pulled
himself away from her a little reluctantly, his eyes slid over her body, totally checking her
out.

Jay-la smiled and whacked his shoulder “you‟re going to convince yourself to stay at this
rate” she said with a devious smile on her face, it was what she wanted right now.

Tim grinned at her. He knew she was right, he shook his head as if to clear it, then
turned and walked away, any more banter and he wasn‟t going and she knew it. She
stood and watched him all the way to his car. He turned and looked at her, then yelled
out “When are you going to marry me?”

Jay-la yelled back “When you actually propose!” and dropped a neat curtsy to which he
bowed back, then they both burst out laughing and he got in his car and drove away.
Jay-la returned to her apartment. At least once amonth he wodldýell out at her. It had
started 6 Months ago and her reply was always the same.

Neither of them were actually serious. Well, at least she didn‟t think so. She had been
dating Tim for the past 2 years now. Neither of them had the inclination to move in with
the other. She had 3 very rambunctious children.

They did seem to like him and he them, but she had always avoided the topic of who
their father was when he had brought it up, he didn‟t like that she wouldn‟t tell him, he
no longer asked anymore. She never really asked him about his family, just him. He had
pursued her and after doggedly chasing her for 6 months Jay-la had given him a
chance.

She knew she was never going back to the wolfen society, so she thought she might just
try dating and see how she felt about it. Tim had turned out to be not only funny but
charming and intelligent, and as his interests had aligned with hers, she‟d found herself
liking him quite a bit, it had been nice to have someone to talk to, to eat dinner with
and go out of their way to make her laugh.

S*x had come quite unexpectedly. Jay-la had not planned to sleep with him, but one
night three months into their dating he had pressed her up against the door roughly to
his apartment as she had been about to leave, and kissed her hungrily and her interest
had somehow turned into want on need, she had now put it down to the roughness of
it, and she had just latched onto him, grinding herself against him all of a sudden, she
had wanted to be touched.

It had been so long since anyone had touched her, desired her and when she‟d felt his
hard erection against her abdomen as he had ground himself against her hard and firm,
that had been enough for her needs to outweigh everything else, Kora hadn‟t fought
her about it, surprising her.

Wolves were all primal wants and needs, their s*x dive was high and they had not had
anything in years. Jay-la had moaned „I want to haye sex‟ right into his hungry kiss, he‟d
replied thank god, so do I sweets and then he‟d pulled her to his bedroom and to his
surprise she had practically ripped his clothing off shoving him down onto his bed and
climbing on top of him, Tim had barely en ough time to put protection on before she
had lined herselfup with him and slammed down on to him, taking him I herself hard
and fast, she had ridden him damned hard that night, his hands had been her naked
body, roaming every where, touching her all over.

She had, had s*x with him 3 times that night, let him touch her, taste her and rode the
hell out of him. It was good and sated some of her needs, but not all of them. Only a
wolf could actually sate her fully, only a wolf could match her desires and needs. Tim
was big for a human, but her last lover was bigger, hungrier and more her desires and
needs. Tim was big for a human, but her last lover was bigger, hungrier and more
insatiable and would never stop til she‟d been screaming herself hoarse and was utterly
exhausted and unable to move afterwards.

That bastard had ruined her for all others.

Jay-la strolled into her bedroom after checking on her babies, still safe and sound, and
turned on the shower. She would have to settle for saiting her own needs today, and
then wait for Sunday to come she already knew Tim was going to be ridden, she was
going to be on top and in control, it was normal for them and Tim didn‟t seem to mind
at all.

Chapter 14
Nathan POV

His phone rang. It was late, he‟d been woken and wasn‟t sleeping well these days and
the few hours he did get, when he actually managed to fall asleep were desperately
needed.

He glared at the stupid thing and wondered who the hell invented such an annoying
thing. The phone‟s display showed him it was almost l in the morning. Stephen‟sname
glowing on the display, he glared at it, he had been asleep less then2 hours and he just
knew whatever this phone call was, he was not going to be able to go back to sleep
after it.

He hit the answer button and then the speaker and buried his head back into his pillow,
growling “what?”

“Um boss, we got a slight problem, nothing too serious, human and all…”
He sighed, it was 1Oish over there where he was, a human problem could only mean
that he saw something he wasn‟t going to like and the hesitation to spit it out annoyed
him to no end.

“Just say it Stephen.” he sighed as he desperately tried to keep sleep knocking.

“Well, Jay-la just came out of her apartment with some human guy. We saw him go in
around 7 but didn‟t know he was going to see her. They looked ..well..hot and heavy
boss and.”

“and”

There was a bit of a heated discussion between him and Jackson, a don‟t do it man, I
have to, its not a good idea kind of argument.

Havoc was already filling with rage. “What?” the word was snarled out of him. More
Havoc than him, his wolf demand to know everything about his mate.

“He yelled out to her, „When are you going to marry me?‟ She replied, when are you
going to propose?”

And that was it, sleep was completely gone. He was only going to be coherent for a very
short amount of time. Havoc was clawing his way out, wanting to destroy and kill
everything that moved. Her not knowing he was her mate was infuriating, to say the
least.

“Find out who he is and send a picture” was all he managed to get out before Havoc
took full control and his wolf was ripped out of him and bolted from the pack house to
hunt and kill anything that moved. His rage was completely unchecked due to the shitty
circumstances of their very situation.

Neither he nor Havoc could blame the girl. She had no idea they were her mate and
whose to say this wasn‟t her boyfriend and if it was, it would be normal for her and Kora
to spend time with him. This thought did not placate his beast, in anyway Havoc had
tried to call to Kora, to let her know she was his mate and he wanted her, but Jay-la had
been in clear control and disconnected the call the minute Havoc had roared Kora‟s
name.
Whatever was going on in Jay-la‟s brain, in regards to him and Havoc, appeared to
override everything else, they had to gain some ground and soon, with the girl or she
was going to find herself hunted, forcibly marked and mated by his wolf whether she
liked it or not.

Nathan would be hard pressed to stop him if it came to actually seeing her in another
man‟s arms, human or not, it wouldn‟t matter to Havoc at this point. He wanted his
mate. He‟d had her once before, they‟d had her before and knew how good it was to be
in bed with her, to hear her scream his name, to have her warm body draped on top of
his or his curled around hers. And although Havoc and Kora had never actually mated
each other, due to not being Mates, he had gotten to sit back and watch as Nathan had
enjoyed touching every inch of the little she-wolf.

She‟d only been 19, he had been her first hadnot surprised him, since he‟d knewn her all
her life, never had a boyfriend that he‟d seen, she‟d come home from a semester of
university and had just been hanging out with him and the boys, but they had all peeled
away with their current flings. It had been late on a Friday night and they‟d been
stretched out next to each other on his bed watching a movie in his room, something
they had done a thousand times before growing up.

His wandering thoughts down memory lane seemed to be creating a noticeable change
in Havoc‟s behaviour, so he allowed himself to return to that night.

He had looked down at her about to ask her if she wanted snacks or a drink and he‟d
caught her staring at him, lust and desire written all over her face. She‟d looked away
hurriedly, a fierce blush covered her cheeks and she had bitten her lower l!p. He knew
that look, had seen it enplenty ofshe-wolves. He however, had never expected her to
look at him with lust and desire.

She couldn‟t hide it from him, he‟d smiled and planned on teasing her, chiding her for
having a crush on him. But when he had tilted her chin up with a single finger to make
her look at him something in him didn‟t want to tease her, those damned green eyes of
hers had trembled up at him with fear of rejection and he‟d simply leaned down and
k!ssed her softly at first thinking to take it slow, see if she actually did want him or if she
was simply curious as to what it was like to k!ss an Alpha wolf, he was expecting the
later.
Nathan noted Havoc had come to a stand still, calming down as he followed along with
Nathan‟s memory.

The k!ss had been soft and tender. He‟d never seen her k!ss anyone before, but she had.

She parted her l!ps for his at the merest touch of his tongue and when he‟d slid his
tongue into her mouth to deepen the k!ss, she had not hestated to slide hers along his.
A part of him had actually felt a little disappointed he hadn‟t been her first k!ss, but only
barely.

He‟d watched her eyes flutter closed as he‟d leaned his body over hers to fully deepen
the k!ss, to possess her mouth completely, and steel her breath away from her. Her hand
had touched his face gently, sliding along his cheek to slip up into his hair, she had
curled her fingers in it and pulled him even closer to he.

He had allowed her to pull him closer, his body was reacting to their k!ss a lot quicker
than he had expected it too. He could smell her desire starting to fill the air around him.
His hand had slid down her neck slowly, softly, to Cup her br-east and the m0an that
had come out of her directly into his mouth had his c**k twitching to life, he‟d let out a
soft growl back at her unable to stop his primal response to the Scent of her ar0usal and
the soft m0an she had made so full of pleasure.

Nathan felt that Havoc had now settled himself down on the ground, his rage was
ebbing away from him. Staying with the memory was good for him and his wolf.

Nathan had slipped his hand down further, sliding it up under her shirt and pushing her
b-ra aside to touch her bare skin, to tease her n****e with his thumb and forefinger. Her
back had arched up to him. Oh goddess, he had known he was in trouble the minute the
cry of pure pleasure had erupted from her mouth, breaking their k!ss.

He moved his mouth from hers listening to her cry of pleasure and had started k!ssing
her neck, soft sighs and m0ans were coming from her slightly parted l!ps, ar0usal was
flooding off of her in waves, she did want this. Before he knew it, he was pushing the
shirt out of the way to k!ss her hardened n****e, to suck on it firmly, she‟d gasped and
m0aned, pressing her br-east up into his mouth, he had bit down on her n!pple and
tugged it a little hard and she‟d near screamed her ar0usal and desire all he could smell
now.
He had shifted his whole body to lie on top of hers, a deep-seated gr0an coming from
him as his c**k became rock hard for her, he wanted her to feel his desire for her in that
instant, to show her that she was turning him on so damned quickly. Her legs parted for
him without hesitation. She wanted to feel him, welcoming his weight, welcoming the
feel of his hard c**k against her hot and we-t core.

She was only wearing a pair of tights and hed ground against her slowly, deliberately,
firmly, he wanted her to kn ow how she had turned him on and how damned hard he
was for her.

Even through his jeans she was enjoying the feel of him, his hands pushed at her shirt
until it was up and off of her altogether and then she was b..ra-less as well, nil objections
from her at all. His mouth was on hers again, her br-easts in his hands. Oh goddess, they
had felt soft and silky smooth, perfectly filling the palm of his large hands.

Her whole body was hot to the touch and she was arched up to press her br-easts into
his hands as his l!ps claimed hers, as his tongue thrusting into her mouth demanding
hot and needy, greedy to taste her, to devour her mouth with his. Her h!ps were rocking
against him, hard and getting harder, she broke their k!ss in her need to cry out with
pleasure, her hands pulled at his h!ps and he started to thrust faster and harder until she
was cu**mming.

He‟d looked down at her at that moment, watched as her mouth had opened and her
head had snapped back, her green eyes were hidden from him for now as she finally
screamed, her whole body arched up against his, her feet were pushing at the mattress
underneath her as she slammed her h!ps into bis grinding her now soaking we-t p*ssy
agaínst his hard c***k, as hard as she could to gain the top of her c**x, her org***sm was
amazing to watch.

Her green eyes had finally opened slowly to look up at him, she hadn‟t seemed to be
self-conscious about what had just happened, had just smiled up at him and then pulled
his mouth back to hers. He recalled whispering her name, his tone full of need to take it
further, she knew what he was asking and reached up to pull his shirt off.

He‟d sighed as her hands had made their way down his body, sliding her hands over his
ch3st, she had teased his ni**ples the same way he had hers, pulling at them and rolling
them between her fingers, before sliding down to trace his 6 pack, and dip lower. She‟d
pulled at the button of his jeans and unzipped him, his c**k sprang out into her hand,
he‟d been going commando today.

She had stroked him without hesitation, sliding her fingers géntly along his hard length,
back and forth, he‟d pulled his mouth from hers, dragging heated k!sses down her neck,
he was so ready to bury himself inside of her, but she wasn‟t, not yet. He was groaning
with pleasure at her touch “Jay-la if you don‟t stop that, l‟m going to c*m all over you.”
he‟d practically grated out at her, he was so freaking close to exploding all over her.

She had shoved him over and to his utter delight she slid her tongue right over his hard
c**k, one long l!ck from the bottom to the top “f**ck” he‟d grated as she slid him into
her mouth and su**cked him deep and hard, his hands had grabbed at her hair, trying
to stop her, but she‟d just looked up at him with those jewel green eyes and grabbed his
wrists pushing them away and keeping them at bay.

He had c*m moments later right into her pretty mouth, she‟d l!cked the tip of him
afterwards before climbing on top of him and leaning down to k!ss him once more.
Goddess he was tasting himself on her tongue and it was tuning him on all over again.

His hands found her br-easts and cupped them, ca**ressed them until she was m0aning
again, rocking her body on top of his all over again. “I want to f**k you”, he told her as
he reached up a hand into her long dark hair, he‟d yanked her head back roughly and
she‟d cried out for him.

He had flipped them over and smashed his mouth onto hers “jay-la?” he needed an
answer from her, he wanted to hear her say it, to say she wanted him, even though her
body was screaming for his, her ar0usal filled his senses.

He had a deep-seeded need to actually hear her say the words.

She looked up at him with those jewel green eyes of hers and whispered “Yes Alpha”.

Those words were so freaking hot to his ears, so darn seductively filled with desire were
her eyes, he‟d not wasted a single second on it. He gotten off of her yarked her tights
and p-anties right of her in one clean hard motion. He had stood and pulled his jeans
off, never taking his eyes off of hers. She slid her green eyes over his na*ked body, his
c**k was massive and hard and ready for her. She bit her l!p nervously but her hands
reached for him.

Goddess she knew how to turn him on. He moved back to her on the bed, allowing her
hands to slide over his ch3st, over his shoulders as he nudged her thighs apart with his
knee and positioned himself above her, his eyes were locked onto hers, he really just
wanted to slam into her so hard, and bury himself so deep inside her, but hesitated
“have you ever?”

She had shaken her head indicating no, “I want to..with you.” she‟d said, up at him, her
voice soft and filled with need “its okay, l am ready” she assured him.

He smiled down at her, she thought she asks, but if she‟d never, she wasn‟t ready for
him.

He would hurt her, he would deny himself for now, his mouth found hers and he‟d slid
his hand down her body to slip a long finger through her we-t folds and goddess she
was soaking we-t for him, he stroked her gently at first from her sweet core to her cl!t
and continued to do so until he could feel her cu**mming and then he pushed his finger
inside her hot pulsing c0re, feeling her c*um around his finger, goddess she was t!ght.

He moved his finger in and out of her, rolling her o****m right through to another as he
thrust continuously with his finger in and out until her h!ps were thrusting up at him
wanting more. He‟d k!ssed his way down her body till he was tasting her, she was
cu**mming again.

Her ar0usal was drowning him. He pushed a second finger inside her and started
thrusting hard and fast, getting her ready for what was to come. His mouth su_cked at
her cl!t and she was screaming his name, he pushed harder, faster and n!pped at her cl!t
gently, Her whole body was taught as she came again her cu**m pouring out of her
sweet p**ssy he slid his tongue down and drank it all up like it was the most delicious
thing he had ever tasted.

He‟d pushed his tongue inside of her, tasting all of her and wanting more “Please”
begged him “I want you, please.” Her words had been his undoing, he moved his body
over hers, his mouth finding hers, letting her taste herself on his tongue as she had
done to him, and finally got what he wanted, pushing his hard c**k firmly and deeply
inside her, all the way nothing was going to stop him now, she was his and he was going
to f**k her into the bliss of oblivion and take himself there too.

His thrusts were slow but firm, giving her time to get used to his size, to find rhythm
with him, it did not take long before she was clinging to him, her h!ps meeting his
thrusts with need and urgency.

Her nails dug ińto his back drawing bl0od, he loved it, it elicited a deep gr0an of
pleasure from him, his pace quickened and his thrusts into her became harder and
faster, her cry‟s of pleasure were only generating more wanton need in him til he could
not hold back anymore and he was slamming in and out of her as hard and fast as he
could, she was screaming underneath him her og*sm ripping through her body in
waves, he could feel her cu**mming, her we-t p**sy clenching and pulsing tightly
around him, so damn tightly it was making it hard to thrust into her, f**k” he roared as
he came with her, slamming deep his seed spilled inside of her, his mouth found hers as
he rocked his h!ps gently against her allowing the last of her og**sm to roll through her
body, f**k it felt amazing.

He‟d slipped from her body and lay down next to her on his bed, his breathing ragged
and heavy, his body slick with sweat, one hand flung up over his head as he tried to re-
catch his breath. He‟d looked over at her, his life-long friend, now his lover, and prayed
this wouldn‟t ruin their friendship. Her eyes were closed, there was a smile on her l!ps,
she was breathing as hard as he was.

He watched her for many minutes as she had regained herself to normal, til her eyes
had opened, she had turned them on him and bit her l!p nervously, he had smiled at her
“you‟re amazing.” he‟d said with all honesty, she had blushed at his words, and he‟d
yanked her na**ked body against his to cuddle her.

Havoc was practically purring at this moment, the shared memory of what it was like to
be with their Mate had calmed his beast right down. He gave control back to Nathan
and relinquished his body and settled in the back of Nathan‟s mind, calm and sleeping.

Nathan headed for the pack house it took him an hour to walk there, but he didn‟t
mind. To be honest, the night air was crisp and had a hint of rain in it. He łooked up.
Clouds filled the sky, soon it would be snowing, winter was on its way. Most days and
nights were filled with clouds now. A deep chill permeated the air all day, every day and
even more ofa night.

He walked into the mud room, showered and headed for his bedroom in nothing more
than a towel, it was late and there was no one about, especially with his parents and
brother off to sort out his human mate and placate her family. His Beta and Gamma
were watching his Mate, it was just Ethan, and his two sisters, Halley just 5 years old, was
upstairs with a nanny due to his parents being away, and his other sister 2 years his
junior, Abbey who was Mated to Jackson‟s little brother Johnny, so lived on the Beta
floor.

He pulled on pants and grabbed his phone and headed back downstairs. Sleep was not
going to happen even though Havoc was now out cold his mind.

He had to look at the photo he knew was waiting for him, a human man, his Mates
possible lover. It was the only time to do it, with Havoc sleeping. It would keep his
raging beast at bay, and stop him from ripping out of him all over again.

Nathan open his phone. There was 1 message awaiting him. From Stephen, as expected,
he opened it. There was a photo of a man, tall, probably 6ft, nothing to his 6‟6”. He was
wearing dark slacks and a white dress shirt, standing next to a car. Nathan was thankful
that it was just the man and not the 2 of them together. This man had dark hair a
standard short back and sides hair cut and was smiling.

He guessed at Jay-la, he was standing next to a silver Mercedes, not the latest model,
but still on the expensive side, a luxury car.

Jay-la it seemed, had surrounded herself with wealthy, good-looking humans.

He was, hansom by human standards, it was clear that the man worked out, he had
broad shoulders and a tapered waist, Nathan sighed how was it, Jay-la could surround
herself by all the humans that were considered good-looking or hansom by human
standards.

He knew she was beautiful, smart and funny, but why was it so darn hard for men to
stay away from her.
Nathan knew wolves were attractive to humans, eye candy and a half, he‟d used his
good looks, himself to get his way, when around female humans, if there was trouble
brewing between any un-mated males of his pack and the humans, especially in the
s****l department, human fathers were just as protective of their daughter‟s virtue as
were wolfen parents.

There was no name attached to the photo. Nathan hit Stephens number, it was nearly 4
in the morning, his voice was groggy “yeah boss?”

“Got a name”

“Timothy James Bolton, he‟s a prosecutor with Starton & Co Law Firm.”

Nathan rubbed his hands over his face, just great more freaking lawyers and this one
talking about marriage. He hung up, not wanting to know more at this point, he would
sit and investigate the man himself, seeing as he awake and sleep was long gone. At
least his beast was out of the picture for the moment. So he could at least do a
thorough job and uninterrupted.

He knew Stephen had more to impart but didn‟t want to hear it to be honest. He had
enough to deal with, his parents had reported that she would not see them, Jackson and
Stephen had followed her around all day and she had completely ignored them, going
about her human world job, she had spent the day in and out of courtrooms. Apparently
very good at her job, but he would expect nothing less from his Luna.

Then a human male in her apartment for 3 hours with her and his pups. Goddess only
knew what time the pups had gone to bed and how long she had actually been alone
with him.

Though 3 hours was not long by wolf standards, hell he‟d been na**ked with her for
longer than that, he could f**k all night with minimal rest intervals, sometimes no rest at
all needed, just a change of position and her scent, and he‟d been completely insatiable
at times the poor girl had spent many a nights, gasping and panting, screaming herself
hoarse and then had to sleep half or the whole of the next day to recover, a smile
played on his l!ps as he thought about it.
He could easily bring to mind at the moment, time spent with her. Once upon a time, he
couldn‟t even recall it when he had been mated to Sophia. He had never thought about
her not once, the mate bond was like that, but now that Jay-la was his Mate he seemed
to be able to recall every pleasure she had brought to him and every m0an, cry and
scream he had elicited from her. Shaking his head he pulled himself back to the present,
we‟ve got work to do, he told himself.

Nathan googled the man, Timothy Bolton, 35 years old. Never married, had been
working with Eric Stanton since he was 27 and just a lawyer, becoming a prosecutor at
31, the man it appeared to come from a well-to-do family, and when he researched
further, the Bolton‟s were affiliated with the Stanton‟s, Eric‟s younger sister Emma was
married into the Bolton family at the age of 20, she was 30 now.

So it was likely Eric had hired Timothy due to family relationships, to keep everyone
happy, nothing like a good wealthy alliance. No different to if Abbey his sister had been
mated to a wolf in another pack. There would have been an alliance made between the
2 Pack Alpha‟s to protect his sister, who was of Alpha bl0od and would have strong pups
which would, in-turn, strengthen the Pack she went off to. Depending on the rank of her
Mate as to the alliance that would be made as well.

Humans were no different in arranging marriage alliances between wealthy families with
companies to protect, writing up strong prenups, each trying to get the better deal for
their offspring in the event the marriage didn‟t work out or was a disaster and ended in
divorce.

Just the type of thing Jay-la specialised in and he was certain she would be good at it,
having grown up in wolfen society where everything was built on or around Pack
Alliance‟s and deals to help out or protect other packs, she had been around and heard
some of what he was learning about when growing up and allowed to be in meetings
when on semester break or home for the weekends due to that she was going to work
in the legal depart with contract law it was not an issue to let her see and learn first
hand how it worked.

She would have been one of the ones to assist with writing up the clauses and sorting
out current agreements if not for his stupid and thoughtless order that fateful day. She
was going to make a great Luna. Not only was she beautiful, but she was very bright,
quick-witted and intelligent. It appeared from what he had learned over the past few
weeks, methodical, ethical and honest. She was determined and stubborn, not to
mention defiant. She was likely going to be a handful, but he liked a challenge.

He shook his head, she was his defiant Mate, so resistant to anything that might bring
harm to her pups, even her Alpha, going up against an Alpha was a death wish. If she
wasn‟t his Mate he‟d probably have just locked her up the minute she had announced
she had unregistered pups and sent someone to get her pups. They were unregistered
with the pack and all pups needed to be accounted for and protected. He sighed. Not
wanting to follow that train of thought.

Chapter 15

Aay-la POv

Walking towards her office she spotted Beta Jackson and Gamma Stephen once again
sitting outside of her office in the waiting room chairs, same as they had been yesterday,
didn‟t they have anything better to do. She glanced at Jordan. He still appeared nervous
around them, he held out a stack of messages then pointed to 3 other men sitting just
down the hall on other chairs.

Jay-la turned to look at them, all 3 of them turned their eyes on her, all wolves though
not of her current pack, she could detect several different pack scents, but didn‟t know
whose packs they belonged to. Not one of them spoke, they all just stared at her.

Returning her attention to Jordan she smiled “Do they have appointments?”, “Yes jay-la,
right after Mr Beta and Mr Gamma”

She nearly laughed out loud at his mentioning of their rank as their last name, they
actually did have last names, but would have introduced themselves by rank she
guessed, standard wolfen culture.

“Mr Delta, from Eclipse and Co at 1145, Another Mr Delta from Harvest Moon Co at 12
and John from Moon light entertainment at 1215.”
Well at least one of them had been smart enough to introduce themselves as a human,
“thanks Jordan.” she nodded and stepped into her office and put her briefcase down,
glanced at the stack of messages in her hand and most were from packs she could tell
by the human world company names. It seemed she was going to be in high demand
and very busy trying to sort out the honest from the tactical to the enemy packs. Well
she had time on her side, seeing that everything was being tendered in the human way.

Jay-la started writing out the list of names of the packs contacting her. She would be
able to call the ones she couldn‟t figure out who they were, and have them declare
themselves, with this many messages to call and discuss a new alliance with she was
certain that they would all take her call. She‟d likely only get to speak with the Delta‟s at
first.

Though any actual serious offers would come from the Beta or Alpha himself, most
others could not be considered high on the offering packs list of priority‟s but she
imagined a verbal offer was not only a prelude to a written formalised agreement, which
would have to be handled by the Alpha himself. A formalized written offer was of more
interest to her at this point.

It was 11am and her appointment wasn‟t here yet, unlike Tony not to be punctual. Jay-la
stepped out of her office for the first time today, and looked down the hall “Jordan,
Tony didn‟t call? He‟s not usually late.”

No Jordan shook his head.

She was about to get her new phone out and call him when her wolf hearing picked up
the elevator ding, she glanced up and a bright smile lit her face. There he was and
sporting a huge bunch of flowers. She walked down the hall to greet him, aware Jackson
and Stephen were watching her.

He embraced her and she hugged him back tightly, it had been a week since she had
seen him and Lauren but she had talked to the both of them every other day, and today
he was here to talk business with her, which totally surprised her actually. He had family
lawyers, what he would need her for was a mystery.

He took stock of the men sitting around in the waiting area and a deep frown creased
his brow. He locked eyes with Beta Jackson for a moment, fear didn‟t seem to come
from him, but as he walked into her office, he said “Those 2 belong to the príck who
kidnapped you, right!” jerking his thúmb in their direction.

Jay-la nearly laughed out loud, he‟d seen the press conference and had recognised
them right away. She nodded as she heard a growl come from both Jackson and
Stephen at the offensive remark directed towards their longtime childhood friend and
Alpha.

Disrespect was not something they would not tolerate. If he‟d been anything but human
in the human world, Jay-la could well imagine the fight that would have just broken out
as her Alpha‟s Beta and Gamma put him in his place.

“So a business call? Not the normal, you and Lauren seemed fine?” she queried, though
she doubted this was a divorce issue. Tony loved Lauren, practically worshipped the
ground she walked on. She never saw a divorce in their future.

He handed the flowers to her, “From Lauren Arnd yes, we are both fine!” he chuckted.
Jay-la took the flowers. They were already in a pretty white and gold box, no need for a
vase. Her favourite flowers, yellow tulips and white gerbera‟s a special order no doubt.
“tell Lauren, thank you for the flowers, they are beautiful.” she smiled at them as she
placed them on her desk. “So what can l do for you today Tony.”

“It‟s Rae-Rae, apparently she met a man and wants to get married.I want an iron-clad
prenup, as does Lauren of course, so who else would I go to for my baby girl?”

Jay-la was more than shocked. “Rae-Rae is only 18, is she crazy, didn‟t she just start
university?”

“Yes, and apparently met him there. I‟m not happy about it and neither is Lauren, but
Rae-Rae is convinced he is her soul mate.” He stated, sounding quite frustrated and
annoyed.

How long has she known this man, and what is his name?”

“Only a bloody week or so, Jay-la”, Jay-la stared at him incredulously as he ran his hand
through his hair, showing his frustration. “Apparently he is from some well-to-do family
out east and his parents are now here and want to meet and discuss the marriage.”
“What?” Jay-la frowned “after just a week?”

“Yes” he nodded “she‟s been begging and pleading for 2 days now for us to meet his
family. Lauren has finally given in and agreed to it, this Friday night.”

Jay-la‟s frown deepened as she sat down on the couch in her office to think about it,
Tony sat with her shaking his head in just as much disbelief as she apparently. Humans,
especially very wealthy ones, never rush to marriage.

There were months of vetting each other‟s families out, then many months trying to sort
out an agreeable prenup, investigations to make sure neither one of the marrying
parties were trying to scam the other or that it wasn‟t a con job. And then there was at
least a year spent on wedding planning. It didn‟t seem right to her. In her world, a week
was nothing. Heck, wolves often marked and mated the day they met.

It was a natural thing, but here in the human world a week was way too fast. “Are you
sure she‟s only known him a week? Is she pregnant?” Jay-la asked out right, that was
usually the only thing that would force a quick marriage between twO wealthy families,
neither wanting the embarrassment of a baby born out of wed lock, or a horrendous
custody battle that would likely end up public and tarnish their family names.

Tony sighed “I asked that very question myself. Got a very angry Rae-Rae in my face
screaming at me that she was still a virgin and that she want‟s to wait until she gets
married. So does he..”

“So are we getting married so they can have s*x?” she mused “I don‟t buy it.”

Tony stood and paced around her office neither dol Jay-la, she is completely smitten
and love struck. Christ is obsessed with him.

Micheal this and Micheal that, Micheal is so handsome, he‟s so dreamy, yadda yadda
yadda.

Jay-la sighed “Okay, I can do the prenup but it will take time, I will need all the details.

The family he comes from you know the drill. I‟ll have to VET them. It‟s not a quick thing
and you‟ll have to get this Micheal and his family to make an appointment. They might
want to bring their own lawyers too, if they really do want a quick marriage… I can‟t
believe they do.”

“I thought we could kill 2 birds with 1 stone Gofre to dinner on Friday and meet them
with us.” Aony was almost begging, it seemed.

She smiled up at him. “Of course, Tony. You only had to ask me, after everything you
and Lauren have done for me. Of course yes. I‟ll have my nanny watch the kids. She likes
overtime pay.”

“Thank you Jay-la. This is truly a weight off my shoulders.” he smiled and sat back down.
“out of curiosity, why me and not your own lawyers?” she knew his family had a whole
team of lawyers as he‟d married into a very wealthy and-to-do family. Lauren was worth
nearly 50 million, not that Tony had ever cared about her money, but Rae-Rae was an
heiress and things needed to be in order before any marriage could be arranged.

“You‟re a household name at the moment and Rae-Rae has requested you do it.
Something about hating grandpa‟s stuffy old lawyers. You‟re more her style and closer
to her age will understand better, or so she thinks.

More suited to her needs and when she mentioned your name to Micheal, apparently
he laughed and said he saw you on TV and thought you were a great idea. His parents
love strategic and professional people, they have been following your case. Happy for
you to handle the prenup.”

“Arg” she sighed and shook her head better not be groupies.” she muttered nothing
worse than that.

Tony chuckled at her comment, “I doubt it Jay-la. Lauren and I will pick you up on Friday
at yours say 7. Micheal will apparently pick up Rae-Rae and meet us there with his
parents, though I did offer to pick him up along with you, he stated it was not necessary
and wanted to pick Rae-Rae up himself.”

“Alright, the dress code I imagine is formal”

“Proper attire will be required, Lauren has booked a table at Nilanway.”

Jay-la gave a low whistle “for the wealthy only I see. Making a statement?”

“Micheal told her to book anywhere she wanted, his parents would be paying for dinner.
So, yes making a statement. It‟s going to cost them a pretty penny.”

“Well, I suggest you get the most expensive thing on the menu and make them pay for
it.”

Jay-la laughed. Trust Lauren to book at Nilanway. She bet Lauren had to use her father‟s
connections to geta table there on such short notice. Owned by the Jacobson
Foundation and booked solid all year round, but Lauren being the current heiress to the
Hill Foundation, a table would likely have been granted as soon as her father made the
call. The Hill Foundation was everywhere and had fingers in many pies, so to speak.

“7 it is, I‟ll dress nicely.” she grinned at him cheekily.

“Yes, no short skirts Jay-la.” he laughed and headed for the door, as he opened it. “Oh
and if that dumb-ass‟s men harass you, I can have Old Man Hill send some goons.” he
stated calmly as he stepped out of her office, knowing full well they would have heard
him, he was making a point.

Old Man Hill‟s goons, unfortunately, would be no match for these two. She liked it
though, found it very amusing.

Jay-la smiled at the word goon‟s. Such a word would not normally have left his l!ps and
there was no way he would actually do it. He couldn‟t hurt a fly and his morals wouldn‟t
allow it either. “okay,” she replied to him, following along with his game “say hi to
Grandpa Hill for me.” She waved him off, trying not to laugh. He could be so funny
sometimes.

Jay-la leaned on the door frame to her office and watched him go, a smile still on her
face. „Rae-Rae‟s influence,‟ Kora piped up.

„Definitely‟ Jay-la thought goon‟s would be a word she could see Rae-Rae using.

As for opening the door so Jackson and Stephen could hear his comment, there was no
need. They would have been listening to the entire conversation, with their wolf hearing,
they would not have missed a word even with the door closed and she knew they were
listening. It was probably why they were still here, spying on her because he couldn‟t
come himself.

„No short skirts.‟ ha he knew her so well, that was her trade mark. She loved the little
short skirts she wore to the office, it threw other lawyers off guard, made them think she
was just a pretty face, with no brains, and while they were busy ogling her long legs or
trying to catch a glimpse of something else, she could safely slide a loophole or 2 to
safe guard her clients.

She was young and pretty and most who didn‟t know herúnder-estimated her, because
of the way she dressed, she was very easy on the eyes and human men were easily
distracted.

Eric didn‟t particularly approve of her dress code, except when he thought it was a good
time to use it, like in her press conference. Once he had figured out that Nathan was the
triplet‟s father, he had offered himself up to annoy the man, to look all cosy and
comfortable with her.

He really was trying to bring out the man‟s angry side, so the short skirt for her press
conference had actually been Eric‟s idea, and his hand on her and the whispering in her
ear, all just a ploy to try and make him show to the world he was indeed an angry,
violent man.

When it was needed, Jay-la owned a proper suit or 2 or 7. It all depended on what case
she was working on, who she was representing, who she was up against and what judge
she had to go in front of. Today she was dressed in a short white skirt that fit perfectly
over her bottom and flared out in pleats for 4 inches past her bottom, she was wearing
sheer stockings and black stiletto‟s that matched her black chiffon cowl neck blouse that
stopped at her waist right where her skirt started, if she stretched up for anything she
would show skin.

Her long brown hair was loose today in slight waves down her back, it reached to the
bottom of her shoulder blades, and it was held off the left side of her face with a simple
comb.

Her green eyes turned to Jackson finally.

He was watching her. She had never dressed like this when in the pack. Un-mated males
were a horny bunch and it would only have incurred unwanted attention to herself and
she had only ever had eyes for one wolf then. So she had stuck to the, pack normal,
tights or jeans and a tee-shirt.

They had probably never seen her dress like this, even on her 18th birthday when her
family had hoped she would find her mate and so had she. They had placed her in a
knee length a-line midnight blue dress, made from silk She had looked beautiful yes,
but like a proper lady not a sexy woman. Now she dressed to kill all the time, and why
not, she was a vibrant s*xual woman.

She now lived and worked in the human world and no human could overpower her.
She‟d had a few sleazeballs try and Jay-la had let Kora put them firmly in their place and
in the hospital. So, nowadays she wore what made her feel sexy and desirable,
something she craved to feel.

He stood as did Stephen. They were both smiling about something, genuine amusement
on their faces, they‟d obviously been having a conversation via their mind-link, not
something she had tested out to see if she could do with them, right in front of her. She
had been gone 6 years it might not work anymore. She didn‟t know.

Or they thought Tony‟s remark was an utter joke, which was the more likely of the two
thoughts. No human could take on either of them, not with wolves ready to rip out and
help at any minute, but she strongly doubted either of them would even need their
wolves‟ assistance with humans. They were well trained in hand to hand combat, as was
she, but they still probably trained every day back in the pack.

Chapter 16

Jay-la POy

Jay-la leaned away from the door frame, she slid her hand down her body slowly and
brushed imaginary dust from the bottom of her skirt.
Jackson‟s eyes followed the movement automatically, Stephen reached out and cracked
him up the back of the head, with quite a hard hit, causing him to growl slightly. His
eyes glazed over as did Stephen‟s for maybe 15 seconds, when his eyes returned to her
she laughed out loud and winked playfully at Jackson.

It was time to play. She thought this could be fun. She hadn‟t played with either of them
in a long time, and now she was a fully fledged and un-mated female wolf, she could
flirt with whoever she wanted. She internally chuckled to herself. Game on.

Jackson had used to stare at her sometimes, she had caught him a few times and he‟d
always cleared his throat and turned away or walked away. She‟d noticed his interest in
her since she was 16, the minute she had gotten Kora, but he‟d never done anything
about it.

Neither had she, her eyes had already been else where, she wondered if he‟d know
about her interest in their Alpha and that was why he‟d never acted on his interest in
her.

She waved them into her office and made sure to accidentally on purpose miss step and
bump into Jackson, as he walked past her, her hand landing right on his h!p as if to
steady herself, her other hand on his muscular chest “oops, so sorry.”

She smiled up at him all innocent like, his entire body stilled, his grey eyes turned to
hers, she leaned away from him sliding her hand off of his chest slowly but allowed the
one on his h!p to linger a few seconds longer, pressing in to feel the v-line she knew was
right there as she stared up into his grey eyes.

She saw his eyes darken slightly and Jay-la knew he was still attracted to her in
someway. Stepłfen the spoil-sport spoiled the moment by pushing Jackson through the
doorway roughly and Jay-la walked in after him. She caught the disapproving frown on
Stephen‟s handsome face, his caramel brown eyes hard on her, almost a warning in
them, she thought.

“So what do I owe the honour of your company for?” she asked, closing her office door.
“have a seat” she indicated the chairs in front of her desk „oh how sweet this was‟ they
both out ranked her in the pack and yet here in her office in the human world she could
tell them what to do and when, she got to sit behind the desk and they in front of it like
good little warriors „oh such a sweet feeling‟ she must savour it.

The smile on her face was friendly and the non-nonchalant way she leaned her chin on
her hand on her desk told them she wasn‟t afraid of them.

“Jay-la” Jackson stated flatly, “you can not entertain the idea of going to another pack”,
straight to the point, she thought.

“Can‟t 1?” she wondered aloud “why not?” she questioned him.

“You know why!” he shot right back at her, raising an eyebrow at her as if to imply she
was faking the reason not to know why.

She got his meaning.

Jay-la allowed herself to lean back in her chair and take in her once childhood friend. He
didn‟t look all that much older, his jaw line was more defined now, his skin was just as
tanned as before from years of training out in the open sun. He clearly still worked out,
his shoulders broader and his chest was definitely bigger and harder, she‟d felt that
herself. His V-line appeared to be deeper now too, than when she had trained with him,
all muscle and good looks.

His light brown hair was a little longer than she remembered but she decided it suited
him, his light grey eyes as clear and direct as ever, she could see Apollo behind them
watching her, there was a flicker of green in them now, he was taking her in as she was
him.

She winked playfully right at his wolf “Hey Apollo.” she acknowledged his presence with
a seductive smile playing about her l!ps. A light, almost playful growl came from him.

Jackson punched himself in the chest lightly and cleared his throat, pulling his wolf into
line. She heard Stephen snap his name and turned her green eyes on him while she
chuckled at Apollo‟s response to her.

Interesting.
Her smile for him was just the same, quite playful and hinted of teasing seduction, but
his eyes were hard and unyielding on her. He too was more defined, not as broad
shouldered as the Beta, but still noticeably bigger than when she had been 20, his skin a
shade darker in its tan, and his jaw very square and set, his jet błack hair, shaved short
on either side and longish on top, styled with gel and set swooped off to the right, he
had definitely turned into a hot specimen of a wolf, though she could see he was not
interested in the slightest, no flirting with this one and Rafe was not near the surface
either.

“l can actually. Any wolf can leave one pack for another, if the other pack is willing to
take them in.” she picked up the stack of messages Jordan had handed her this morning
and waved them at him, returning her attention to Jackson, “and it seems, there are
plenty willing to offer me a place too.”

“You don‟t know how dangerous it will be for you and your pups, Jay-la.”

“I‟ve a fair idea,” she nodded, “but better than the alternative, considering how much my
current Alpha hates me.”

Stephen sighed “Jay-la… honey”. His voice -oozed Gamma Charm. She hated it instantly.
“He doesn‟t hate you, I assure you.” he leaned forward. “Take the chance to mediate
with him.” His soft tone now had a sudden slight southern accent and was making Kora
practically lay down and roll over. She wanted nothing more than to listen to his every
word and fulfil them.

“Stop that crap.” Jay-la shot at him annoyed, knowing full well he was using his goddess
gifted, Gamma Charm, to attract all her wolf‟s attention. She may not find him attractive
or desirable, but Gamma‟s could sweet talk any she-wolf. It was a gift to calm Luna‟s
under times of stress, to get them to comply when they didn‟t want to, to run when their
mate was in trouble and wanted her out of harms way, when they were dying or dead
and the Gamma had to save their Luna‟s life from another alpha or his men, to protect
her.

They could use all that charm to sway even the most distraught wolf to get up and
move. To take their hand and run away from trouble, even when grief overwhelmed
them completely, they would listen and comply and Kora was no exception to the
damned rule, so it seemed.
Stephen smiled at her, he knew exactly what he was doing and doing it on purpose. Ah,
that was why he was here instead of back in the pack protecting his actual Luna. He was
here to try and make her comply using the gift the goddess had blessed him with, as*s-
hole.

“Jay-la…honey, what harm could it do. 1 meeting on your terms!‟ he practically drawled
with that slight southern accent coming out of him now in deeper under tones. He was
really trying to get to her wolf.

We should‟ Kora whined at her, she was lying in Jay-la‟s mind all submissive and calm.

Ready to comply with his will.

Jay-la was just as stubborn as he was and forced Kora to the far reaches of her mind
with a great effort. Glaring at Stephen she took a long drawn in deep breath, to help
steel herself against that goddess gifted Gamma Charm and turned away from him on
purpose, losing eye contact with him, hoping to refocus her mind on Jackson and pull
herself back to normal or it would be all over for her.

“I will hear all offers and make a decision myself, you will have no say or, influence on
my decision.” she bit out the last 4 words stilling trying to fight that bloody charm. Not
looking at him was better, focusing on something else was better. She could feel herself
starting to come back to her normal self.

Or he had let go of her, stopped using his gift on her for the moment. More likely that
was it.

Jackson was glaring at her. “Do you even know who our Packis in alliance with? At war
with? Who are our enemies?” he shot at her “how could you be so stupid as to entertain
anything any other Pack offers!”

Jay-la was now glaring back at him. She was not stupid and of course, she knew there
were many risks to her and her babies, as did Kora, but what choice did they have? He
had dragged her back and hadn‟t even cared about the injuries she‟d sustained, just
stared at her with those furiously angry eyes of his.
If the FED‟s hadn‟t turned up she would probably be dead or in a dungeon somewhere
in pack territory. Fortunately, she was fully ensconced into the human world, where the
people around her noticed she was missing and cared about her enough to report it and
take action for her.

“I should just roll over and comply to the Alpha.” she snapped right back at him “After
what he did to me?” Jay-la opened the top draw to her desk and pulled out the stack of
photo‟s full of her injuries and threw them on the desk in front of the 2 of them,
showing just how bloodied and injured she had been the bruising from being strangled
and man handled, the red raw marks from the silver handcuffs, the bruise and puncture
wound from the needle that had been used to force-ably inject wolfs-bane into her “the
worst of the worst.” she shot at him, hurt lacing every word “I made 1 mistake in my
entire life and that‟s all he can think about even all these years later.

I‟m sure the Luna healed quickly enough, not a scar would have been left on her face. 1
hit and this was worth all my injuries, the trauma of being kidnapped, drugged and
separated from my babies. I bet that wasn‟t even the worst to come. Just the beginning,
I saw how he was looking at me, still so angry for just 1 hit to his mate 6 years ago, not
to mention that she hit me first.”

Stephen had picked up the photo‟s and was frowning down at them. She had been
running away when he had joined Jackson, coming to help capture her, probably hadn‟t
seen the full state of her injuries. Jackson, on the other hand, had seen it all. It was 1
slap, was it really worth anything she had been given?

Jackson ran his hand through his hair roughly.”Jay-la it wasn‟t like that, as for the men
who hurt you.l had sent them and they were instructed not to harm you at all.”

“Did I look unharmed to you Jackson?” she yelled angrily at him.

“You started the fight, I believe, in the back of the van. If you hadn‟t, you would not have
sustained any injuries at all. l assure you.”

“Was l just supposed to let some strange wolves drag me away to beat and probably r*e
me Jackson, multiple times before being handed over. Of course, I was going to defend
myself, any wolf would.”
“Jay-la no harm was going to come to you.” he repeated firmly.

“But I didn‟t krow that. Worst of the worst. That means that those who come for you,
can do as they please, no matter what, and there will be no repercussions because the
one who ordered it doesn‟t give a damn. As long as the detainee is actually alive and
still breathing, they don‟t care about the state of said detainee. Isn‟t that correct?”

Anger laced every word, she knew she was correct, she knew that he also knew it.

“He was just angry Jay-la, that you were defying his request to come home and the
minute he knew you had called, he was very sorry for his words and rescinded them, but
wouldn‟t pick up the phone and let me explain or reassure you. So you need to take
some responsibility here too.”

“I need to take responsibility! Are you f**cking insane? I was coming in. I‟d made the
arrangements but did he care? No he didn‟t. I am not f***g responsible. GET OUT:” she
yelled, her anger starting to boil over. Kora was up andfórefront in her mind, ready for a
fight, they had complied and he‟d wanted to send the worst of the worst.

She was standing now, her hands on her desk her claws were out, digging into the wood
of her desk, Kora pulling forward.

Jackson stood “Calm down.” he said softly, trying to placate her.

“I won‟t” she growled, allowing him to see Kora right there ready to fight him.

“Okay, maybe I was wrong.” his hands were raised defensively in a gesture that showed
he
didn‟t want to fight with her.
Stephen got up, dropping all the photo‟s and stepped between them. “Out” he said
softly to Jackson, “I‟ll talk to her.”

Jay-la watched as Jackson pushed something into Stephens‟ hand, “make sure she
knows” he said, and walked away out of her office and close the door behind him.
That łeft her alone with Stephen and she could already feel his calming aura radiating
off of him. Damn Gamma, she was spoiling for a fight and Jackson could take the brunt
of it, as*s-hole. All flirtatious thoughts were now gone, where he was concerned.

“Please, Jay-la honey, sit down.” Stephen said softly, slowly walking around the desk
towards her.

She could feel her anger starting to ebb away. Her eyes were on his and his directly
looking at her. She and Kora both watching him carefully, waiting for something,
anything. He technically was the enemy or belonged, to her pissed off Alpha and
goddess only knew what his orders were, where she was concerned.

“Please… Jay-la honey, sit down” he repeated softly and she couldn‟t help it, her body
sank down into the chair “just relax,…. I‟m not here to harm you in any way” his voice
was barely above a whisper, all his Gamma Charm falling over her in full force, and she
realised just how little he had used on her before to make Kora submit.

“I hate you.” Jay-la murmured, as Kora submitted and lay down.

He chuckled, not offended in the least. “That‟s okay right now.” his eyes lit with
amusenment, his hands moved to the arms of her chair and he turned her to face him
directly, leaned down and looked right at her mere inches away from her face, his
Caramel eyes soft on her, she actually felt like he truly cared about her at this moment.

“Stupid Gamma.” she hissed at him, all the fight going out of her.

“Yes…I‟m the Gamma,” he smiled right at her “Your Gamma, so please listen to me”.

“No…” she closed her eyes and shook her head “I don‟t want to.” she whispered,
knowing it was a losing battle but still trying desperately to fight it.

“Jay-la… honey. Yes you do” his mouth was right there against her ear. “please don‟t
make any rash decisions.” he placed a piece of paper in her hand “read this, take it very
seriously.”
She nodded her head, opened her eyes and he was right in front of her, staring right
into her eyes. It felt like her very soul. “l know you‟re hurting right now Jay-la…and need
time, take the time.. just please give us a chance too. That is all l am asking of you.”

Tears filled her eyes “I hate you.” She whispered again, she was drowning in his Gamma
Charm aura.

He smiled softly at her, placed a light k!ss on her forehead “Just breath.” he said softly
and stepped away from her, dropped his Gamma Charm, he walked towards the door,
his hand on the handle and turned to look at her “have a nice dinner on Friday.” he
winked at her and then was gene from her office.

She felt the weight of his Gamma Charm lift the minute he stopped using it and was
starting to feel better and more her normal self with every minute that he was out of her
office. Her eyes hardened and she glared at the door where he had been, „have a nice
dinner on Friday‟. He was just letting her know that he knew exactly where she was
going to be, and would likely be reporting as much to the Alpha.

She took several minutes to recover her composure from the effect he‟d had on her. She
felt real sorry for his mate. The poor creature never stood a chance against that power,
she was never going to be able to stay mad at him.

Her eyes turned to the paper in her hand, she unfolded it, read it. There was a list of
pack names at the top were the words „None of these‟ Enemies she guessed. Along with
the pack names were the names of the Alpha, Beta, Ganima and Delka of each pack. Jay-
la guessed that was just in-case they tried to fool her. She didn‟t quite understand why
they had given it to her, and stated‟none of these‟ almost implied she was going to be
allowed to get a new pack.

Were they actually starting to believe she was going to be able to find a new pack?
Preparing for it, she supposed, she could reject her pack any time she liked, and go
rogue. Perhaps he would rather know where she went with his children than just
disappear with them, which she could. She guessed.

3 of those packs were right out there in her waiting area. She would take it seriously, she
did not want harm to come to her,babies, or her and Kora either. She got up after
putting the paper away in her desk draw. Walked over and brought in her next
appointment.

He introduced himself, smiling politely and sat down, seemed nice. He didn‟t even look
her over, as most male wolves would, could be mated, but his mark spot was currently
covered, so she didn‟t know. He handed her an envelope. It had the Eclipse Pack seal on
it. “My Alpha sends an offer of friendship and an invitation into our pack” Delta Ryan
Jay-la opened the letter and read it. It was addressed directly to her and offered
sanctuary and protection to her and her 3 pups until they were to turn 18. He offered
her a position in his pack‟s legal department along with a nice-sized salary attached.
And accommodation in the Pack House itself on the Gamma‟s floor.

A full suite for her and the children. All she had to do was pledge allegiance to him and
swear her loyalty and her children‟s as well, and then he would take her in and protect
her from her current Alpha and all threats from the Blood Moon Pack.

It was a nice offer, but all she saw was the deadline for the protection of her children at
18. After thathe could simply do as he pleased and harm her and the children. Do
whatever he wanted to them. No she was not so stupid.

She looked up at Delta Ryan “only til my children turn 18? why?”

“I didn‟t write it.” Ryan stated with a simple shrug, “I was only instructed to deliver it and
await your reply.”

“I‟m currently fielding many offers” she indicated the stack of message slips on her desk,
“you should return to your Pack. Tell your Alpha, thank you for the offer. I will consider
it. However, an expiry date on protection and sanctuary is a turn off. I want complete
assurance no harm will, ever, come to me or my children.”

“I seriously doubt youll get that from any Pack.” He nodded and stood up “My Alpha,
however does have a son about 3 years older than your girls. Perhaps a mating bond
alliance could be a better offer.”

„Hell no‟ Kora roared in her head. Jay-la agreed totally, she would not sell off one of her
children to any man or wolf. The goddess would gift her children Mates and only then
would she allow any of them to be bonded to another. There would be no chosen Mates
for her babies. Certainly not one from an enemy Pack.

“Perhaps” she bowed her head slightly, showing respect, she did not want to offend this
man or his Alpha.
“I will let my Alpha know,” was all Ryan said before leaving her office.

Jay-la shuddered, she felt as though grubs were crawling all over her skin. Are all offers
going to be like this? She hoped not.

Chapter 17

Nathan POV

He was disappointed to hear how Jackson had handled Jay-la, Jackson was usually very
diplomatic in his business dealings. He thought sending him to deal with her was a
good idea, due to the man‟s feelings towards her.

Not that he had yet to say anything about having feelings for her, but Nathan was sure
if he didn‟t have them then, once he had done, which should have made him handle her
gently, not try and get her to take some responsibility for her injuries.

He had been totally disappointed and hurt by her words about him, but at least now he
understood why she ran away, she believed he hated her, how she felt about him at this
current moment didn‟t sit well with him. Havoc was pissed off about it, but again Nathan
reassured him that when they came face to face everything would work out. It would all
be okay.

Havoc muttered something about mating Kora, whether she liked it or not, until she
submitted to him completely. Nathan didn‟t totally approve of that, but wolves would
do what they wanted.

The human counterpart couldn‟t always control them, and he doubted very much Havoc
would be relinquishing control the minute he spotted Kora. She was his Mate and
nothing was going to stop him from mating her.
It also gained him some insight. She was still unaware that his mating bond was broken,
so she was indeed in for a shock when she laid eyes upon him.

Thankfully, Stephen had been there, he had handled her very well indeed. She was very
susceptible to his Gamma qualities. That was good, though he had mentioned she put
up quite a good bit of resistance to it. On his first use, forcing her wolf away to try and
beat him at his own game, he had relented and let go. He‟d just been testing her.

But, had used all of it to stop what was going to be a full-blown wolf-on-wolf fight
between her and Jackson, right in earshot of three of their enemy packs.

He had even called her His Gamma, not something he should have done without
permission, but she hadn‟t thought anything of it, as far as Stephen could tell. Just
presumed he meant it in a round about way due to the fact that he was the Pack‟s
Gamma though Nathan knew that was not what Stephen meant, he literally was, her
Gamma and he obviously wanted her to hear it, know it maybe even sense it.

Those enemy pack members would have heard the heated discussion between the 3 of
them and now they all understand she does not want to have anything to do with their
pack. He had no idea of what they made of Stephen‟s little fopar, he could only hope
they took it the same way Jay-la did.

Hearing the oscillation from her office with he own pack Beta, they will be likely to make
better offers to entice her. It was clear his most hated rival packs were the first to come
out of the woods to try and win her. They were indeed trying to get to him via his
children.

He could only hope they never found out she was his Mate. That Stephen hadn‟t let it
out of the bag and endangered her.

Stephen had advised that they leave after the meeting, so Jay-la didn‟t get into it again
with Jackson when coming out of her office.

They had stayed close by though, with enemy pack members right there, they would not
leave her alone, and he had ordered tighter security on the triplets and her apartment
building.
They had been a little on the reserved side during the video call and he knew something
else had happened but they were holding it back. He knew it, asked them what it was.

lackson had literally looked guilty and not been abłe to make eye contact with him,
dread had filled him almost instantly. Had he actually hurt her he‟d wondered.

Stephen had sighed and muttered” I‟ll tell him then, shall l”. And proceeded to inform
him of Jay-la‟s flirting with Jackson and his wolf, Apollo and Apollo‟s reaction to her.
Havoc had not liked it at all, but Nathan had burst out laughing.

He had not expected her to play that tactic, but when he thought about it, why wouldn‟t
she try to throw them off guard.

If she had any idea that Jackson had any kind of feelings for her, of course she would.
She was a she-wolf and a very beautiful one, with mischief built into her genes. She‟d
always played games with them.

Hell, when he and she had been in their casual relationship she would run and hide
behind Jackson to get away from him when he was stalking her playfully, looking to bed
her, sometimes climbing on his back and begging him to save her from the big bad
Alpha who wás trying to ra**pe her and steal her virtue, lol that had been lost long
before.

Cheeky minx. Jackson had played along sometimes and ran off with her on his back.
Leaving Nathan to chase after the 2 of them, very playful banter, he‟d always catch
them, toss her over his shoulder and run off with her towards his room, growling out in
playful tones „your mine now little she-wolf‟.

His laughter had surprised both of them. He simply explained that it was no different to
her behaviour when they had been going out, running to Jackson to have him save her.
She was trying to appeal to his nature to help her out.

He was not concerned at all. He actually wasn‟t. He didn‟t think Jackson would do
anything to hurt him or enrage his beast. Let alone something that would get him
kicked out of the pack or killed.
His friend might like the future Luna, but Nathan was certain the man would not act on
it.
She was Hot hís destined Mate. If she was he would have claimed her long ago, hell
before she had seduced her Alpha with those jewel green eyes of hers, that night when
she‟d been 19.
It had crossed his mind as to whether Jackson had been hoping she was his fated Mate
at one point. She was one of their closest friends and it had surprised all of them that
none of them had wound up Mated to her.

The day she had been presented on her 18th birthday he could recall her beauty. None
of them had seen her dressed like that make-up on either. Most of the time they saw
her in jeans and tee-shirts or training clothes, covered in mud, they‟d all seen her
na**ked.

Nothing unusual about that. She was a fierce fighting machine, as were they, and so
when there had been rogue attacks, she had joined in on the fighting against them. And
so they had all seen her shift and be na**ked.

Jackson had actually been wearing nice clothing. On the day of her 18th birthday, he
recalled dark blue slacks and a pale blue short-sleeved dress shirt, though he had still
been leaned back casually against the wall next to his parents-table, looking bored as
usual, playing it cool, Nathan had wondered then if it was due to wanting to be her
Mate. she had looked very uncomfortable that day, being presented as all pack
members were at 18 to see if their fated Mate was within the pack.

Actually, she hadn‟t looked around at all simply stood next to Alpha Blaine and stared
directly ahead into the forest, not searching the crowd as many id looking for the one
they were hoping to be their Mate, praying to the goddess that they too would be
looking at them.

Nope not his Jay-la, stubborn always. Defiant even to the Goddess, it seemed. Well, she
had a fated Mate now, she just didn‟t know it yet. But would soon enough. He had to
find a way to get her to willingly come home to the Pack.

Or into the state where his pack was or he was going to have to breach the human
restrictions placed on him where she was concerned, and he was truly trying to abide by
them so she could see he respected her.
This was the only reason he had stayed put. He wanted her to come to him on her own
terms. He was hoping the mediation would work, but no, she had stubbornly refused it.

The next thing Jackson had relayed to him had shocked him but also was going to go in
his favour, or at least he hoped so. He was now patiently waiting for the outcome. And
they had snapped a few shots of her coming and going from the office.

She looked stunning in her s**xy little skirt though he was still unhappy about her
wearing it where all eyes were on her, especially while she was entertaining offers from
his enemy packs. He was going to have to have a serious talk to her about her dress
code when she came hope.

S**xy for him was one thing, but in front of the whole pack, hell no.

He had also received new pictures of the triplets at their school. His son was very
protective of his sisters, just like a good Alpha, though he was a little concerned about
the anger he displayed when anyone hurt one of the girls, even accidentally. His men
watching the triplets had reported that one of the twins had been bumped into by
another child running past playing with other children and fallen off her seat.

His boy had picked her up off the ground, made sure she was alright and then ran after
the children and shoved them over quite violently and yelled at them to watch what the
heck they were doing or he‟d beat them up.

Apparently, the twins hadn‟t reacted much to it, just watched him, probably normal
behaviour that they always saw, coming to their defence, but it would have to be
curbed. Did Jay-la even know about it? He wondered, and if so, did she discuss it with
him and try to discourage it.

In a pack school, you could expect it from a male Alpha child that had a twin sister or
brother even, which ever was the more dominant would become the protector and
display such behaviour, but in the human world he didn‟t think it would be acceptable.

He could have Jackson or Stephen bring it up with her later this week and see how she
was handling it. Though how she would take him, trying to give parental advice, when
he‟d never had anything to do with them, when she had raised them all by herself, was
another matter.
Was he overstepping his bounds in this matter? Was it too early?‟ No. Havoc stated
„Ours.‟ Yes, they were his, but he‟d never even known about them and if the rolls were
reversed would he want someone who he thought hated him giving parental advice, he
doubted it very much. Even if it was out of Concern, it would be like an intrusion. He was
in 2 minds about interfering at this point, but he was weríed about the boys‟ aggression,
did he have Havoc‟s temper. Nathan felt Havoc snort?

„Ain‟t nothing wrong with me.‟

„No, let‟s just go around ripping heads off at will buddy‟

„Only one time,‟ he snarled right back „hmm and the ripping and tearing and killing of
things when you‟re mad.‟

„Normal l‟m the alpha wolf.‟ Nathan shook his head, there was no reasoning with his
wolf. He hadn‟t always been destructive, yes aggressive and forceful, but that was
normal for an Alpha wolf.

His sudden change of temperament had come from a betrayal that had hurt him so
badly he had not known how to cope with it.

That thought made him wonder just how Kora felt, if she was too an angry wolf at this
point, and what would it take to subdue her if that was the case. She would have been
just as hurt as Jala that dáy, though he was certain now Kera had reacted to protect her
pups.

He had no idea if Jay-la had known about them at the time. She would have told him he
was certain of it, they had been in bed together enjoying each other very much, they
very day before he had met Sophia. So he could only presume Kora had just figured it
out but had yet to tell Jay-la.

He called Jackson and asked him to bring it up with her. Jackson was quiet on the
subject but didn‟t decline altogether, so Nathan told him if he was uncomfortable to
have Stephen do it, but it had to be done before the boy actually hurt someone. He also
requested a copy of their birth certificates so he could get them enrolled into the Pack
School here right away.
He had yet to tell his pack about Jay-la or his pups, but he knew some had figured it
out, mostly the ones that worked in the human world and had seen his press
conference, though none of them had come to him or passed it around the pack, they
all knew better than to piss off his wolf. Who had a very short fuse and an explosive
temper.

When he half-shifted, the place wreaked fear. On the bright side, that he could half shift
and maintain it was currently keeping the attacks on his Pack to a minimum. It seemed
even his enemies had become weary of him.

He hoped Jay-la and Kora wouldn‟t get to see it any time soon. He didn‟t need either of
them anymore, afraid of them than they already were.

Havoc snorted „just makes us look stronger.‟

„Is that what you think?‟

„Kora will like it.‟ Havoc rumbled „wolves like strong mates all the better to protect them,
huh.‟

Nathan smiled at Havoc‟s thought process. He really believed Kora was going to love
him no matter what, that she would have no problem with his temper, dominant
behaviour, halt-shifting ability, or reputation. He has some serious faith in his Mate.

Considering how he thought he was going to mate her, by force without permission,
until she completely submitted to him, Nathan had some serious doubts that it was
going to go smoothly, probably a massive wolf fight out in the woods, hopefully in the
woods and not in the Alpha suite. Where everything would get destroyed.

He, on the other hand, was going to use every seductive tactic he knew, where Jay-la
was concerned, he would tread carefully and make sure she was completely willing, it
wasn‟t like they had never been in bed before. But this time would be very different, it
would have a completely different meaning to it, not just a fun romp between the
sheets.

But a meaningful lifelong commitment to fun romp between the sheets. But a
meaningful lifelong commitment to each other, it would also feel very different, be way
more heated and both their arousal levels would be higher and their need for each
other would increase at some point and the desperate need to mate furiously would
take over and his dominant need to possess her utterly and completely would get the
better of him, and he would just pound the living hell out of her, marking her at the
height of their org**sm.

„We‟ll mark deep‟ Havoc murmured.

„We will indeed, everyone will know she is mine, ours‟. Nathan agreed he would bite
hard, his venom burning into her so much she would never get away from him. She
would mark him back the same way he hoped.

Chapter 18

Jay-la POV

She was standing in front of Jordan‟s desk staring at the message in her hand. It read
“Winter Moon Industry CEO Austin White would like to personally discuss affiliation.
Approved by your grandmother, Clara.”

Clara was her mother Vera‟s mother, and she did actually reside in the Winter Moon
Pack. Jay-la recalled visiting when she was little girl with her mum and brother. It was
probably the only honest offer she had received so far.

Her grandmother must be worried about her, not only that she had just learned she was
a great-grandmother as well. This could be the thing that saves her.”Jordan, call Mr
Austin White back and make an appointment with him. If he‟s not available to come
here I will go to him. I‟m free next weekend.” “Yes Jay-la” he nodded.

“Let me know right away and give me the number too.” She watched him write it down
and took it, added it to her phone right away. Was about to walk into her office when
she smelled them. She had been so involved in her thoughts that Jackson and Stephen
were able to sneak up on her. Well, walk they didn‟t sneak, took great pleasure in
reminding her they were watching her all day every day.
Jay-la may we speak to you?” Jackson asked almost politely.

“About that? I‟m expecting Eric Stanton any minute now and he won‟t take kindly to the
2 of you being here, considering who you work for.”

“I really don‟t care”. Jackson shrugged “I wasn‟t charged or court-ordered to stay away
from you. What can he do? Really!” his smile was smug.

“Add a harassment charge to Nathan‟s list of crimes. For sending you.”

Jackson seemed unfazed. “It‟ll all get resolved when you come home Jay-la. Which you
will do.”

She looked right at him and laughed softly “Well, considering l just got a real valid offer
of affiliation, I don‟t see that happening.”

She felt it, anger filling the air around him, it was coming off of both of them now and
she stared at them a little wide-eyed. Why were they so surprised or even angry about
that they had to know it was coming sooner or later? They were aware she was
entertaining offers after all.

“What Pack?” Jackson practically snarled at her, forgetting he was not in wolfen society
but the human world, she guessed, Apollo was right there on the surface. She saw
Jordan shrink back in his chair in an effort to get away from him. “Austin White will be
calling himself to make an offer in person.

He was thinking, his mind ticking away. Did he know Alpha Austin, she wondered. Jay-la
couldn‟t recall much about him.

She had only been little. Jackson was frowning deeply at her and she wondered if he
knew of her blood relation to the Winter Moon Pack, or if the Blood Moon Pack was
aligned with her grandmother‟s pack.

Breaking into her chain of thought was Jordan “Jay-la Mr White is on the line for you
now, I put it through to your office, line 1.”
“Oh thank you Jordan.” she nodded to him, completely surprised that he was taking the
time to personally speak with her on such short notice, and turned to walk into her
office, she went to close the door only to have Jackson force it open and step right
through, followed by Stephen. Whatever she thought, she had more important things to
sort out than them.

She picked up the phone. “Alpha Austin, thank you so much for taking my call on such
short notice.”

“My pleasure, dear Jay-la. Your grandmother was very concerned and brought your
plight to my attention, and has asked me to extend an offer to you.

“Thank you, she was surprised by his straightforward and direct remark, probably very
busy and needed to get to the point, to attend to other business for the day.

I was going to drop by, but seeing as you called back so quickly, let‟s just get this sorted
out right away, shall we. l‟d like to offer you protection for you and your pups. I was
more than disappointed by the treatment you received from your current Alpha. I will
certainly never treat you in such a manner.”

“I‟d appreciate that, truly I would,” she said in all honesty.

“Seeing as you already have a blood connection to my pack and Clara is offering her
home to you and your pups. I don‟t mind at all. You may come and see the Winter
Moon Pack at your convenience and, if you like it, l‟ll initiate you and the pups in.”

“That simple?” she was more than shocked now, and a little relief was flowing through
her. Perhaps she should have just gone right to her grandmother when she had been
banished, but being too distraught at the time, she hadn‟t thought about it, just pushed
it all down and tried to focus on her degree and then raising her pups.

“Yes. I will not try to sway you, as l‟m sure others are doing at this moment. I will also
never hurt you or your pups. That is not what I am about, I assure you. You will all be
safe here for as long as you are here with us, protection guaranteed. We are a strong
pack, 80% warriors and well respected by other packs. I am also on the Alpha council, so
my word may be trusted. Think it over. It is an open invitation to come if you want to. If
you choose me.”
Wow, he was very direct and Jay-la didn‟t hear a single ounce of anything other than
honesty in his voice. “Thank you again Alpha Austin, I will visit very soon.”

“Anytime.” he repeated, and then disconnected the line.

Jackson was staring at her practically fuming, he looked as though he was about to
launch himself at her and forcibly drag her away and back to his pack. She felt Kora push
forward at the threat they were feeling. Stephen was suddenly between them, a hand
out stretched to each of them “Everybody calm down,” he said softly, flooding the room
with his Gamma Charm.

He knew there was about to be a full-blown wolf-on-wolf fight right here in her office, in
the human world, things were rapidly getting out of hand.

Right at that moment, Eric Stanton chose to open her office door and walk in. He took
stock of the situation and snapped “Who the hell let you in here?” and walked towards
Jay-la.

Jackson‟s reaction was instant. He spun on his heel and stepped right into the man‟s
face, still all anger and aggression.

Apollo right there on the surface and Jay-la thought he was going to rip into him her
eyes wide, “Back off.” he grated out, his Beta aura forcing Eric to actually step backwards
several steps.

“This is private.”

Jay-la sighed with relief Jackson was still in control enough to realise this was not the
time or place. Kora backed down. “It‟s alright Eric, I‟m fine. Can you please give us a few
minutes?” she asked calmly.

Eric didn‟t take his eyes off of Jackson, but nodded slowly “5 minutes then I am calling
security.” he stated flatly, only a trace of fear he must be feeling showing in his voice.
Then he left the room.
Jackson banged the door closed behind him and she watched him turn towards her. “I
asked what Pack Jay-la, and I expect an answer.” he snapped all Beta aura flowing out of
him.

She steeled herself against it and said “I‟m not giving you one. I have the right to protect
myself.”

“Yes you do.” Stephen nodded, his eyes were also on Jackson, though not on hers. He
was trying to control the situation at hand, she thought, control the Beta. Unlikely, she
thought. Jackson outranked him, if it was a physical fight, Gamma Beta jay-la was
betting on the Beta.

Besides, she had trained with them all, she knew Jackson would win. Only Nathan could
take him down.” It‟s fine Jackson, she is not going anywhere today…got that dinner on
Friday night and has court Monday to Wednesday. Calm down..Also, I do not think her
own grandmother would mean her any harm, the offer is likely genuine.”

How did he know she had court next week?.. So they were not only watching her, they
were spying and prying on her as well, not just at home but in her working life too.

Bastards.

Jackson seemed to regain some of his composure and Apollo receded. “Fine, then we
need to discuss why we actually came today. You go ahead. If I loose it, blame the she-
wolf”

Jay-la sighed, she-wolf. She had a name and he knew it.

Her eyes moved to Stephen. “What did you come for?”

“There was an incident at the triplets school. Young Nate pushed over another boy and
threatened him!”

“So! He was protecting his sister‟s is all.”

The school had called her, she had apologised and told them he was just a bit super
sensitive due to her recent killing and attack, that he needed an adjustment period.
The school had complied and given him leeway this time but stated that it was not to
happen again. She had promised them she would talk to him.

Jay-la had, had words with him, but he‟d folded his arms across his chest and told her he
would protect them no matter what. Such a good boy, typical alpha genes. She‟d had to
remind him that, due to what he was, he was naturally stronger and needed to
remember he could easily hurt a human child without trying if he wasn‟t careful.

Also, told him he needed to learn the difference between an accident and an on-
purpose bump or running into of his sister‟s. She had not chastised him, just gently
reminded him one day he would be like her and Kora and have a wolf with enormous
strength. That she wanted him to be careful and responsible for his actions. Not to let
his anger get the better of him.

He had huffed at her and she had reminded him to breathe and count to 10 before
charging off in anger, to look at the situation and determine the right course of action,
think about what the outcome would be if he was to solely act on his anger.

She didn‟t want him to be like his father, filled with rage and anger over the smallest of
things.

“That‟s it! You‟re not going to do anything about it?” Stephen asked, seemingly
concerned by her lack of Concern.

“What‟s it to you how l deal with MY son?” she spat at him.

“The Alpha is concerned about the amount of aggression that has been reported, is all.”

“So..” her anger building “he thinks he has the right to stalk my children, does he, to tell
me how to raise them. He knows nothing about them. Has no rights as far as I am
concerned,” “and whose fault is that Jay-la?” Jackson snapped from where he stood, still
over by the door.

“His.” she shot back. “It was him Jackson, who Alpha ordered me to leave and never,
ever come back.”

“You should have told him before you left.” he stated flatly, still implying it was her faułt.
“Hmm, tell him something I didn‟t know, how is that possible? I didn‟t find out until after
I had left the pack.” That was technically true. It might have only been minutes after she
left, but still after she had left, after she had been banished.

“You still could have called and told him. Or Alpha Blaine at least.”

“Oh could l and what would the then future Luna have done to me, to my pups?”

She watched as he ran his hand through his hair but said nothing. She knew she was
right. Sophia would not have been happy about it or supported it, she and the pups
would have been in danger.

“Your Luna would never have accepted them and I would have been in danger every day
of her knowing. I did what I did for their very safety. And I will continue to protect them
from your Alpha and Luna. Even if it means changing packs.”

“Jay-la look.” His voice softened.

“Enough.” Stephen interrupted, glaring at Jackson.

That was a bit odd. She thought, especially when Jackson actually stopped talking,
taking an order from the Gamma.

Stephen turned to her, “Do you need a hand with the triplets Jay-la? Is Nate too much
to handle? That is all we need to know.

“No, he is fine and I did talk to him. He‟s just protective of his sisters is all, even more
now, since I was kidnapped and…” she left the statement unsaid.

“Right. If you need a hand just call one of us, okay, we‟d be happy to help you out.” he
held out a pack card with all their details on it.

She took it but knew she would not be using it, just a courtesy to make them leave
peacefully, shrugged as if to say whatever and dropped it on her desk.

Stephen turned to Jackson, “Let‟s go, we came and did what was asked.”
Jackson was still frowning but nodded. “Iwant to know when you intend to visit Alpha
Austin‟s pack Jay-la, a protective detail will be organised so no harm will come to you or
your pups.”

I don‟t want your protection,” she replied firmly. “Tough,” he stated and walked out of
her office.

Stephen nodded to her,” Please consider it Jay-la, every time you‟re not with them they
are at risk, even if it is small.”

Then he was gone, out of her office as well. Well, whose fault was that, who put them in
the spotlight for all of wolfen society to see. Not her, that was for sure. She had kept
them safe and sound and out of wolfen society for their entire lives. His high an
almighty. I‟m all powerful, I can do as I please. Your Apha, that was who. So do not
blame us for that, ass-holés. she thought, annoyed.

Eric walked in the minute they walked out. “what were they doing here? I‟m not wrong,
they were two of the men at his press conference, right!” he sounded very annoyed with
her.

“Yes, there are his men, his right and left hands respectively. They are here on his
request to check up on the triplets, now that he knows about them.”

“Why all the yelling?”

“It‟s normal, they work for him. Why would l be nice to them?” she shrugged.

“Jay-la, what is going on? It looks like you‟ve been communicating with Mr Browning
without your lawyers present. Have you?”

“No! He did try to yell at me over the phone, so l hung up. His men are here trying to
convince me to do the mediation and keep an eye on his children. As far as I know,
there is no actual threat at this point.”

“ls that what they are telling you? If they are here watching your children, that is a
problem.”
„I Grew up with both of those men that were just here. They were once my best friends. I
don‟t believe either one of them would hurt me or my children, just watching is all.”

That is called stalking Jay-la and you know it. I can have them arrested and charged.”

Jay-la sighed, this was the very reason she didn‟t want them here when Eric turned up to
check on her. “Perhaps it‟s better to just let them be for the time being. Placate him by
letting him think he is getting what he wants… I will need to go away next weekend. Eric
to visit my grandmother, she caught wind of all that is going on and is worried about
me. She is with the Winter Moon industry‟s”

That got his attention. “Does everyone you know?” Jay-la cut him off. “Yes everyone I
know, from my past works or lives within the confines of some of the biggest
corporations” she sighed, it was getting too close to the truth, and before you ask, No I
won‟t be trying to bring them in as a client for you, they have their own Law Firm.”

He stared at her for a long minute.”This is not a simple thing is it Jay-la, did he really
take you over a monetary debt?”

“I honestly have no idea. I was only in his presence for maybe 3 or 4 very uncomfortable
minutes, he was completely fuming with rage. It is all l got. Then his father interrupted.
With your press conference and I took the opportunity to run away, and got away, that
is it, he never actually spoke to me other than to demand I look at him.” she shrugged,
she wasn‟t about to tell him she had been dragged back to be punished for that 1 slap
to his Mate‟s tace.

He was no fool and was starting to think money was not the motivation. He‟d never find
out the real reason, he was human and they wolfen and if he did and tried to out them
he would be slaughtered before he could and his body would likely never be found. He
would simply just vanish without a trace from the human world. She had no idea what
to do with him.

Alpha Nathan, she knew if she dropped the charges, would have her and her pups taken
instantly and brought to him with just I phone call. So for now, the charges will have to
stay in place.

Once she was safely initiated into another pack, she could drop them.
„It‟s a losing battle‟ Kora piped up. He‟ll come at some point.

Jay-la knew this, it was just a matter of when, but probably not until he could assure his
pup‟s safety from his current Mate.

Their very existence was a threat to her and her heirs, to his throne, so to speak, it‟s
likely the triplets would be probably 6 to 12 months older if he and Sophia had pups
right away.

„I know, we just need to wait. Next weekend we‟ll go and see grandmother and her pack.
If all goes well, we‟ll simply stay.‟

„You sure?‟ Kora sounded worried.

„Yes, and you‟ll finally be able to run free and at will.‟ Jay-la smiled at her.

„Mm okay‟ though she still felt a little reluctant to Jay-la.

„We might find our Mate!‟ Jay-la offered, hoping to cheer her up “and you‟ll be able to
let the pups ride on your back.”

Kora chortled at that „Deal‟. It was something she always wanted to do. Her demeanour
picked up right away.

„Good, let‟s think positively about our visit to grandmother‟s pack, okay.‟

„Okay‟ Kora settled down in her mind, but Jay-la felt the lingering thought of Havoc. She
pushed it aside. Since his wolf had called to her, Kora had been having odd feelings,
uncertain of what it was herself but it was concerning. Jay-la had tried to tell her it was
just the Alpha calling her to come home, for his pups, nothing more, but there was a
feeling of uncertainty within Kora and it was still with her.

She knew as well as Kora that Havoc was not her fated mate. If he was, they wouldn‟t be
in this situation, they would have marked and mated on her 18th birthday and their
pups would have been born in the pack. She gently reminded Kora of this now. Kora
agreed, but still that lingering thought of Havoc, stayed with her. It‟s just because he‟s
the pup‟s father, Jay-la reassured her now.
Chapter 19

Jay-la POV

Again they were waiting for her at her office. You know one day I might not come to the
office. “We‟d know,” Jackson replied lazily. He was leaning up against the door to her
office, appeared bored, this was how she remembered him from her days in the pack,
laid back and easygoing, his normal stance.

“Get some, did we?” she laughed. He was so relaxed he must have, she thought to
herself.

He raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing.

“What do you want?”

“You‟re out for dinner tonight! Stephen and I thought we could watch the children.”

“no.”

“Yes, Jay-la,‟ he said calmly, “anything could happen to them while you‟re out for hours.”

“Is that a threat, Jackson?” she queried.

He sighed, and shook his head. “ Jay-la, you have known me your whole life, do you
think I would hurt your children, Nathan‟s children? For that matter. He is my…best
friend.”

She noted the pause he‟d clearly been going to say Alpha, but had thought better of it
with Jordan right at his desk.

“I was, to once” she shot back, “but you sent those men after me at his command. she
shrugged, “you might take them.”
Stephen sighed heavily “please don‟t fight, I hate getting in the middle of the two of
you. One day I am gonna get injured if l can‟t control the pair of you and talk you
down.” He held his hand up to stop them both from replying to his comment. “Look,
let‟s call a truce just for tonight. Jay-la, you go out and have a nice dinner with Anthony
and Lauren and Jackson and I will assist your nanny. A win win.”

Jay-la stared at Stephen for a long minute. Could they be trusted, she wondered. A
truce. She had no idea if that would even work, but she did know that they would never
hurt her pups. “Fine, but my rules and no arguing about them, period”.

“Good, state your rules,” Jackson said simply.

“I haven‟t thought about them yet” and she hadn‟t, had barely had time to think past
them wanting to watch her children in a babysitting capacity, but she would think some
up at some point.

He pushed off of her door and walked past her. “We‟ll be at your apartment at 1830, half
an hour before you get picked up.”

“Fine.”

They were prompt. Jimmy buzzed her at exactly 1830 to let her know they were in the
lobbý. She had him send them up. Looked at Suzzy “Don‟t let them in. Not even to use
the bathroom. If they try to take the children, call the police right away and give them
the address l gave to you and the names I wrote down. I wouldn‟t advise talking to
them, especially Stephen. He will be all charming and be able to sweet talk the hell out
of you.

Suzzy chuckled at that, thought it was funny. Jay-la sighed, poor Suzzy. If they did get
her to open the door she was doomed to be attracted to both of them, and Jay-la was
certain Stephen would use his Gamma Charm on the girl to get inside the apartment for
some reason. She just hoped they weren‟t going to do anything to her human nanny. It
wasn‟t uncommon for wolves to fool around with humans if they weren‟t mated.

Jay-la waited outside her apartment, saw them get out of the elevator, both dressed
very casually in jeans and tee shirts, shirts that were stretched and straining at their
muscles. Hell no, they were not going anywhere near her sweet Suzzy. She‟d never
survive either one of them.

They both walked over smiling at her. She did not smile back at them “rules”, she stated.

 “1. you will not go inside, you stay out here on door detail
2. you will hand over your phones and I will put them inside the apartment, no
photos of my children for him.
3. if you have to use the bathroom, there is one in the lobby, don‟t ask Suzzy to let you
in.
4. when l get home you leave without issue. Do you both understand?”
They were both frowning now, but Stephen nodded in agreement without hesitation. He
even reached into his jeans back pocket and handed over his phone to her. Jackson
seemed reluctant but did comply after 10 seconds and an elbow from Stephen.

“This is not assisting” Jackson stated flatly.

“No, its guard duty.” she smiled at them sweetly, but did not say what she was thinking
just what watchdogs are for‟.

Kora snorted at her „good one. Jay-la returned to her apartment, reminded Suzzy of the
rules and not to let them in for any reason, then went and pulled on the dress she had
laid out for dinner.

A soft mint green silk dress that fell just below her knees, it was a fit and flare dress,
hugged all her curves perfectly and then flared out from the h!ps to the hemline, she
pulled on her white high heels and a white Bolero jacket and headed out the door.

Both Jackson and Stephen were leaning on the wall across from her door and openly
stared at her. She saw as they both looked her up and down. Jackson gave a low whistle
Take a photo, it‟ll last longer.” she shot at him.

“Can‟t you took away my phone. But please take one before you give it back. I‟m sure I
know someone who would love it. Make darnned good use of it, if you know what I
mean.
Stephen laughed and punched him, then as Jay-la walked away, “Oh Jay-la, you, have a
nice dinner now, won‟t you.” and she heard them both laugh.

They all walked into Nilanway and as coats were being collected, Jay-la‟s phone rang,
her heart skipped a beat, please Goddess don‟t let me have trusted them just to have
them kidnap my babies. “”Il be just a minute, go on ahead,” she told Tony and Lauren,
and they, were taken up stairs to their table.

She answered the phone which was indicating Home on the screen, “hello.”

“Mummy, can we have ice cream?” Lilly practically yelled down the phone at her, Jay-la‟s
heart settled instantly, they were all okay. ” Yes, of course you can, sweetheart” she
heard Lilly yell „Mummy said yes‟, and then the call was disconnected. Jay-la chucked to
herself, Kora chortled, typical of her babies getting what they want and run away. So
cute though.

She handed her bolero jacket over to the man patiently waiting for her to finish her call.
She headed up the stairs after Tony and Lauren. Frowned the instant she got to the
second floor, she could smell wolves and a very familiar scent at that.

Glancing around the room she saw Tony and Lauren just sitting down at a table across
the other side of the room and there at the table with them was Micheal Browning and
his parents, Alpha Blaine and Luna Darla.

„Just freaking great‟ she walked over to the table and looked at Rae-Rae. Oh goddess,
the way she was looking at Micheal, she was his mate, a human mate. He had his hand
in hers on the table, Jay-la frowned right at it and it suddenly dawned on her.

The amused looks on Jackson and Stephen‟s faces when Tony had left her office that
day, the comment about her going out to dinner and, tonight when she‟d left her
apartment again, the comment have a nice dinner‟ and then them, laughing. They knew
she was going to be having dinner with her Alpha‟s extended family. Ass-holes. They
would pay for this.

She was also willing to bet that Nathan himself knew about this, probably thought it was
funny, getting a real kick out of it, she imagined.
She did not, however, sit down, her eyes glared at him, she honestly had nothing against
any of the wolves there at that table, but Tony had told her Micheal had heard of her
that his parents were happy for her to work on Rae-Rae‟s prenup.

Which meant she would have to deal with his family in person and you can just bet they
would be putting Nathan in charge of dealing with it, which meant not just phone calls,
but in person meetings, and with him currently not allowed to leave his state, she would
have to go to him. To the Pack.

“You son of a b***h!” she snapped at his smiling face.

“Jay-la.” she heard Alpha Blaine gasp at her tone.

“Honey what‟s wrong?” Lauren asked worriedly.

“Do you know who they are?” she turned her eyes first to Lauren and then Tony. They
both looked confused at her anger.

“Jay-la.” Again Alpha Blaine, but this time she heard the clear warning in his tone,
making sure she knew he wouldn‟t stand for her getting in the way of his son‟s Mate
Bond.

“This is the Browning family,” she pointed right at Micheal. “This is Nathan Browning‟s
younger brother and those are his parents.”

She heard both Lauren and Tony gasp in shock, saw Rae-Rae‟s eyes widen, it surprised
Jay-la to see Rae-Rae suddenly pull her hand from Micheal‟s and stare at him wide-
eyed. This was completely new to her. He should have told her, given her some warning,
but it seemed he had not.

“Jay-la, that is quite enough.” Alpha Blaine stated and she heard his tone loud and clear,
he was ordering her to shut up.

Micheal‟s eyes had moved to his suddenly empty hand and Jay-la registered the instant
distress in his expression as Rae-Rae edged away from hirn, fearing she was rejecting
him, when less than 30 seconds ago she had been blissfully in love with hirn. She could
also smell a small amount of fear coming off of her. Rae-Rae was like a little sister to her
and she had seen Jay-la‟s state when she had been brought home and had cried and
sobbed all over her.

Babbling about how anyone could do that to a person was inhumane, that she hoped
Nathan would be sentenced. to prison and locked up for a long time, beaten to within
an inch of his life, so he knew how it felt. Now she was just realising she was in love with
that man‟s brother, it didn‟t appear to be going down so well with her.

“Sit down.” Alpha Blaine ordered her and she sat with the weight of the order on he. She
could not help it, no choice in the matter You will apologise. Micheal has never done
anything wrong. And Nathan never laid a hand on you.”

He was angry. She could feel it now, she was ruining Micheal‟s chance with his fated
mate and Alpha Blaine wouldn‟t stand for it.

He could see Rae-Rae‟s reaction to the news as well as her parents, both Lauren and
Tony were reaching for Rae-Rae to move her away from Micheal. Jay-la knew if she did
ruin this Alpha Blaine and Luna Darla would never forgive her. She had thought Alpha
Blaine could be trusted, but she guessed not. He was, after all, Nathan‟s father. What
more could she expect from him, other than taking his own son‟s side.

“This is not about you Jay-la, this is about Micheal and Rae-Rae‟s Bond and Marriage to
each other”.

Don‟t screw it up, I am warning you he shot at her through the mind-link. It hit her like a
hot knife searing into her brain. She hadn‟t even known if she still had the ability to use
it anymore, being gone for so long. Clearly he could and with great force. Her head was
actually now aching from the force he had, used on her.

A Mate Bond was sacred, especially a goddess-gifted one. She didn‟t want to be here,
couldn‟t be here, would only screw everything up royally and she wouldn‟t be able to
help herself.

She stood and left almost at a run, heading for the ladies‟ room. She couldn‟t breathe,
felt suddenly smothered and completely overwhelmed. She really honestly didn‟t want
to hurt Rae-Rae or Micheal‟s Bond at all, it was just such a shock to her that they were
all there, and trying to arrange a Bond between her surrogate human sister and her
Alpha‟s brother. She really needed a moment to compose herself and get it together.

She heard the door open behind her, she could smell Luna Darla immediately and her
hands gripped the basin tightly.

“It‟s okay Jay-la.” she sighed softly “l understand, a bit of a shock to see us all here.”

“That‟s an understatement.” Jay-la bit out, trying to ignore her tone.

First, it was Stephen with his Gamma Charm and now it was Darla with her Luna Calm.
She had to get out of here, Jay-la stood up and tried to step around Luna Darla, but the
woman blocked her way.

“No Jay-la,” she said calaly, confident in her ability to be able to get her to listen. Luna‟s
were supposed to be able to make the packs feel safe and give advice, be wise and fair.
It was their gift from the goddess to be able to calm her pack members and engender
trust, “Please just hear me out.”

Jay-la shook her head. “No, you‟ll trick me.”

Darla chuckled and stepped closer to her, placed a hand on her arm. “Everything is
going to be just fine Jay-la. You can come home now. It‟s all safe and you‟re welcome, I
assure you.”

Kora was listening intently. Jay-la, too, couldn‟t help it. This woman was a Luna, a former
Luna, but once a Luna always a Luna. Her power still seemed so strong, shouldn‟t it have
lessened when the next Luna took over? She was sure it should have the minute of
transfer to the new Alpha and Luna, when they took over the pack, but here she was
right in front of Darla and her Luna powers seemed just as strong as ever. Very odd.

“I‟m not safe there.‟ she shook her head in denial. She could never believe she or her
pups would ever be safe around the Luna, no matter what.

Yes, you are. I will vouch for your safety. Just come home. Nathan wants to see you.
Wants to meet your pups too. We all do Jay-la.‟ she was rubbing Jay-la‟s arm, stepping
closer to her.
Jay-la knew what she was doing, same as Stephen trying to sway her, influence her into
going home to the Pack, a place too dangerous for her babies to ever be. She stepped
away and shook her head. “No, stop it.” she was using all her strength to resist the
woman before her, hell bent on convincing her to go home and take her babies with
her.

“Jay-la, please sweetheart, all is just mixed up, it will be okay. I promise.”

“No…” she whispered, squeezing her eyes tightly shut.

Closing her eyes and not looking at her, when she had stopped looking at Stephen it
had worked. Perhaps she could do the same with Darla. Kora was whimpering now,
wanting to go home. That bastard had too many people, too much power and he was
throwing all he had at her. He didn‟t even have to do it himself, everyone around him
would do it for him and when he got his hands on her, then what? Fear crept in.

Take her babies away from her for sure. To punish her even more for not going home,
not taking them back to him once he knew about them. He was going to destroy her.
Make her suffer the worst punishment, to bare the loss of her pups.

He‟d probably imprison her for the rest of her life and never let her see them ever again.
All the worst scenarios were popping into her mind, bombarding her, increasing her ear
tenfold.

She could feel herself filling with distress at just the thought of it. Kora was whimpering
now with her, now also trying to fight their former Luna‟s power over them. She did not
want to be separated from her pups. Not for a single minute, let alone the rest of their
lives. It would be better to die than suffer that.

But his anger and fury would make him want to punish them, to make them śuffer an
eternity of pain away from their babies, and he had the power to make it happen, a
simple word, a snap of his fingers and boom her world over, her babies gone from her
forever, and the torture of her and Kora‟s very souls would begin.

Jay-la‟s whole body was rapidly filling with dread, so much so she knew it was
outweighing the Luna‟s Calm and she could feel it. Luna Darla‟s power was weakening
over her.
She yanked herself away from Luna Darla, staring at her. She registered Luna Darla‟s
shocked look that she could fight off the Luna‟s power, then read sadness in her eyes,
watched as tears filled her former Luna‟s eyes and distress started to pour out of the
woman as she stared at her, almost as much distress as Jay-la felt herself, could she feel
Jay-la‟s fear, it was possibly she knew it was coming off of her in uncontrollable waves
right this moment.

Jay-la shoved past her, her pain too great just thinking about the punishment that
would come. She couldn‟t even bare the thought of it, it was too disturbing, she had to
get out of here, away from them, all of them, back to her babies.

Luna Darla called her name as she ran from the ladies‟ room, she pushed through the
door only to run right into Alpha Blaine. He looked at her worriedly, then his eyes
moved to his Mate behind her, who had rushed out of the ladies‟ room after her.

His eyes glazed over and Jay-la took the chance to run, though she only got a few steps
before his hand landed on her wrist, too fast even for her and Kora, other than Nathan,
Blaine was the only wolf in the pack that could catch her.

“Jay-la wait.” he practically begged her.

“No, leave me alone.”

“It‟s really okay” he stated “No harm will ever come to you or your babies.”

“She‟ll never let them live,” Jay-la whispered, pain ripping through her and Kora alike at
the thought of someone hurting their pups. They were so tiny and defenceless and
didn‟t deserve that fate, just because she had born them. It wasn‟t their fault.

“About Sophia honey,” Luna Darla said softly, trying again to use her Luna Calm.

“I don‟t care about her!” Jay-la snapped “l don‟t care she is mated to him,” and she truly
didn‟t. She just desperately wanted to keep her babies away from her, keep them safe.

It‟s what she lived for, their safety and only she could provide it. She was their mother.
“Jay-la honey, she‟s gone. He has no Luna” Alpha Blaine rushed out, trying to stop her
from leaving as she was pulling at the hand he had on her wrist which was preventing
her from getting away from leaving the restaurant.

“I still don‟t care,” she yelled at him. Jay-la could still recall their last encounter. He
hadn‟t even known about her, babies then and the anger and fury coming off of him
directed at her was clear to her, and now he did know, more reason for him to be
furious at her.

„Kora‟ she begged her wolf to help her, to help them to She felt Kora push forward in a
rush so fast, like she had done that fateful day that led up to this very moment, their
defiance was bound to get them in more trouble, but what more pain could she suffer
than being separated from her pups forever by him, by the man she had loved with
everything shed had. Pain was pulling at her every fibre, she would never let him take
them away, even if it meant defying every alpha in the wolfen society, she would do it
for them.

We‟re strong Kora, do it‟ she sobbed to her wolf, unable to cope anymore with the pain
inside of her.

Alpha Blaine‟s whole body went rigid, he knew it was about to get very real, even
though they were here in a human restaurant, Kora growled at him deep and viscous
like Jay-la had never heard her do before.

All animalistic and primal, the days of her being a law-abiding pack member were long
over, long dead. They might as well be rogues.

Luna Darla shot in front of her Alpha, suddenly yanking his hand off of Jay-la‟s arm. She
heard a chair tip over and heavy footsteps coming this way fast. Micheal was coming.

„Run‟ Jay-la told Kora, there were no hands on her at present, „we can‟t take all of them‟
and Kora turned and ran from the restaurant at the top of her wolf speed, not stopping
for anyone or anything in her way. People were knocked over and she didn‟t care. They
ran non-stop till they were a good dozen blocks away and certain no one was following
them. Then they just stopped and stared at nothing, into the darkness of the night.
Didn‟t know where they were.
Looking around, she saw a bus bench and went and sat down on it. Kora had receded
now, to the back of her mind, control handed over.

They just sat for a long time not knowing what to do, then called a cab, unable to make
sense of much of anything.

Both their minds were more than a little chaotic with many different thoughts from both
of them crashing into each other, confusion ebbing in them both, for the first time in a
long time they were both at a loss, and needed to pull themselves together.

Then their thoughts aligned for a single moment Pups‟ and she was in a cab headed
home, and had no idea what was waiting for her to be honest. She wanted to go home
desperately, but knew it was probably going to be a death sentence. They had just sized
up Alpha Blaine and were ready to tear him apart or try to in order to get away.

To be honest, she wanted her mum right now, to hold her and tell her everything was
going to be okay, but that wasn‟t going to happen. She headed for her apartment,
stopped the cab a block away and made her way on foot behind the building, careful to
watch for any other wolves patrolling her building. She knew they were there.

It took a good 20 minutes to find a gap in the patrol and slip through it, used her key
card to access the stairwell and climbed the flights of stairs to her floor. Would they still
be there? Of course they would.

Suzzy hadn‟t called to say anything was wrong, and she would. They would not leave a
bloody mess in her apartment when killing her children.

It was likely they were either unaware of the situation, she had removed their phones
from them, or they were waiting for her to come home to take her in.

Jay-la stood by the fire door to her floor, biting her l!p nervously on the fact that she
wasn‟t ready to be brought in, so she turned and continued to the roof.

The weather was turning cold, winter was almost upon them, how she missed the snow-
filled winter days, the snowball fights with her brother, the snow drifts to hide in, pounce
on and generally play in. A sigh came from her, with many wolves around her making
her very nostalgic.
No wonder Kora had been off lately. Jay-la stood and looked out over the city, this had
been her home for so long, but deep down inside of her and Kora, they knew it wasn‟t
home, no forest to run in. No wolves to socialise with, no other pups for her pups to
play with.

She had gotten so used to being alone. Was this how it felt to be a rogue, she
wondered, overwhelmed when you could smell other wolves, stressed at knowing they
were all about you, fear always on the edge of your mind, always deep down wondering
when they would come for you, her fight or flight response constantly on alert.
Adrenaline is never far from the surface. She had thought she was fine, but tonight
proved her wrong, she was anything but fine.

Had probably never been fine in all honesty. It was probably the reason she was fighting
so hard not to go home.

Her flight response was activated and maybe it had always been, but she had just gotten
so used to it being there she‟d forgotten about it. It had become the norm.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, returned to her normal state of being. It
took several deep breaths but she managed it, but yes, there in the corner of her mind
was that constant nagging feeling of run‟ even though she wasn‟t going to right this
minute, it was there within her.

She pushed it down hard, but now that she understood herself better, her response, she
knew that one feeling had always been in her mind just so far back, she had learned to
live with it. They could never go rogue, she did not want that overwhelming feeling of
fear to be embedded in her children for all their lives. It was a hideous feeling, the
Winter Moon Pack was looking much more appealing to her now than it ever had
before.

She walked down the stairs to her floor and pulled the door open and walked down the
corridor to her apartment.

Both Jackson and Stephen were still there, they were staring at her intently, they knew
something had happened, she could tell from the way they both leaned off the wall,
their bodies tense and ready for anything. She thought she could see concern in them,
both of them, faked she imagined.
She had no idea what time it was, or how long she had spent out on the street, or up on
the roof top for that matter.

She was a little numb right that minute, just wanted to shut the world out and go back
to being on her own with her babies. She wished they would all just go away and leave
her alone, like she had been for the last 6 years. Jay-la ignored their looks and went to
her apartment, unlocked the door, retrieved their phones, and tossed them out the
door, she didn‟t care if they caught them or if they shattered on the floor, then shut the
door and locked it.

Suzzy was asleep on her couch, she covered her with the cream throw rug hung over the
back of it, and let her sleep.

She would pay her for the whole night. Then she walked through her apartment and
looked at the girls. They were sound asleep safely in their beds. She walked to Nate‟s
room and checked on him, it was like he knew.

His eyes opened and he sat up bleary eyed “Mummy, what‟s wrong?”

“Nothing, go back to sleep,” she assured him and watched as he stared at her for a
minute before lying down and closing his eyes to allow sleep to reclaim him.

She walked to her bedroom, stripped off her dress, and lay down on her bed. The clock
read 0137. She was utterly emotionally worn out. How were they going to survive this?

Chapter 20

Nathan POV

His phone was ringing, he was aware that Jay-la was about to come face to face with his
parents and his brother, he was hoping it went well, that there was no trouble, that Jay-
la could handle it, knowing that this was not about her but Micheal and Rae-Rae and be
able to differentiate between him sending people to corner her and the reason for the
dinner. She being affiliated with Rae-Rae had come as a complete surprise to them all.
Rae-Rae had talked about her like a sister to Micheal, this dinner could go one of 2
ways, Jay-la would remain calm and let them work on their Bond, or she could turn it
into a nightmare causing trouble for his brother and his mate. He was praying for the
first, not just for her sake but for his brother and Rae-Rae too.

The time of the call was barely midnight so only 9ish over there. Father flashed on
thephone‟s screen, this was not going to be good, he thought, taking a deep breath
before answering the call.

“Yes” he stated, leaving all pleasantries aside.

“Get on your plane and get over here no” his father stated, in that no-nonsense tone,
meaning there was to be no arguing period.
Then he simply hung up.

Nathan was sitting in his office, patiently waiting a call on the outcome of the dinner.
Clearly, it had not gone as planned. He called the family pilot and organised the plane
be ready for take off within the next hour. Making sure they had a direct flight to a
private air strip, he could not be detained by the human police for leaving his state and
breaching the current human world court order.

Not if it truly was bad, it would only make things more difficult. He wondered just how
bad it had gotten, Havoc was worried too, prowling around in his mind like he was
stalking his favourite pray, his ears flat against his head and his tail swishing furiously,
though he was quiet on the thought front, never good, the calm before the storm.

It was a 5 hour flight, there was a car waiting at the air-strip, it was just after 0130 in the
morning when he arrived. He‟d already had a bunch of messages, she was missing, no
one seemed to know where she was, she had run from the restaurant and no one knew
where to. His father had simply said it was bad.” and he had been able to hear his
mother sobbing in the background.

Ethan was with him, he‟d left Abbey in-charge of the Pack, for the first time ever. Wow,
her head had nearly exploded with the power. Bloody she-wolf loved running things.
She was a bossy b!tch at the best of times, hot-blooded and loved giving out orders, a
typical alpha.
Ethan drove them straight to the hotel suite Jackson and Stephen were using to run
things from. He was surprised to see them both sitting calmly on the couch, a drink in
hand, apparently waiting for his arrival. They bloody well should be out there looking for
her, He was about to let Havoc loose on them, the snarl that came from him as a
warning shot them both to their feet.

Jackson quickly spoke “she‟s at home.” He reigned in Havoc, and his beast went willingly
knowing his Mate was safe. “what the hell happened?” he snapped.

“Your guess is as good as ours.” Stephen sighed, shaking his head. Apparently, they
were also in the dark. Was it really that bad?

Mate needs us, we go now‟ Havoc growled at him. He was determined to get to her and
being this close was keeping him on the surface. The not knowing of what had gone
down was keeping their adrenaline high, his wolf was feeding off of it, it seemed.

“So father hasn‟t informed anyone of what happened then?”

They both shook their heads, sitting back down again. He watched Stephen drain his
glass and frowned. The man liked to sip his bourbon, liked to savour the taste, unlike
him to drain a glass like that, he didn‟t like it, that meant he was stressed which likely
meant so was his Mate.

„Mate needs us‟ Havoc reiterated.

Nathan pushed him away for now. He needed more information, ignoring his beast was
not a good idea. But if he let him loose in a city, it would only be bad for everyone,
humans and wolves alike.

Not to mention he would probably scare the living hell out of their pups and her too.

He called his father, he did not care what time it was.

Alpha Blaine picked up right away. “We‟ll talk later, we have another problem to deal
with”. “What the hell could be more important than my mate?” he practically roared
down the line. His anger at his father ignited.
“Micheal‟s human Mate‟s fanmily yanked Rae-Rae from the restaurant the minute Jay-la
ran and no calls are being picked up.

Not even Rae-Rae is taking Micheal‟s calls. Micheal is at a loss. I‟m sorry, son but you
may have to handle Jay-la on your own for the moment”.

Nathan sighed. He couldn‟t blame them. human Mate‟s were hard to deal with,
especially one as prominent as Rae-Rae, she was an heiress to the Hill Foundation and
just couldn‟t disappear without a trace. It would be noticed by a lot of people especially
her family.

On the bright side, when Micheal did manage to bring her in, she would have Jay-la for
comfort in her new environment and to help with the transition to being a ware-wolf.

“It‟s fine, sort out Micheal‟s Mate. „ll sort out my mess…what‟s wrong with mum?” he
finally asked.

“She is distressed about everything, we‟ll discuss it in the morning son” the line
disconnected.

Nathan turned to Jackson and Stephen “How was she when she got home?” Not only
did he want to know, he knew Havoc did to, his need to be with his Mate was boarding
on obsessive. At some point there would be no stopping him and anyone who got in his
way was going to be ripped to shreds in all likelihood. He sat himself down across from
them, knew Havoc was watching assessing their every move, would be listening for
every inflection in their tone of voice, he knew they knew Havoc was right there on the
surface.

There was a slight roughness to his voice that implied they were both speaking at the
same time, their thoughts aligned completely.

“Quiet” Stephen said.

Nathan raised an eyebrow. That meant absolutely nothing to him “normally quite chatty.
Narky chatty…but nothing, she didn‟t even look at us really, just a glanced at us, tossed
our phones out the door and closed and lockedit. From what I heard, checked on the
children, Nate was either still awake or woken. She had a quiet word with him, reassured
him everything was fine, then went to bed.”

Jackson informed him calmly.

“Didn‟t even wake the nanny to go home.” Stephen piped in.

Everyone was staring at Stephen now. Why mention that?

Nathan thought he didn‟t care about the human nanny. None of them would, she was
non essential. He‟d vetted her nothing out of the ordinary, 24 had been a nanny since
she was 20, normal human family.

Jackson, however turned, looked at Stephen with a sly smile Is that where you‟ve been
sneaking off to, to bang the nanny?”

“No” Stephen shot back, “just monitoring her to make sure she‟s not being paid by
another pack to spy on Jay-la and the pups is all.” he sounded quite defensive actually,
like he didn‟t like having to justify his actions where the human was concerned.

All of a sudden, Ethan jumped on him, knocking him off the couch and onto the ground,
holding him down “you lie.” he was grinning at his friend liar liar: “Not lying” Stephen
stated, trying to fight him off.

“You‟re so doing the nanny.” Jackson burst out, leaned down and started shaking him
“spill it” he was laughing at his friend they were playfully pummeling him, trying to get
the truth out they knew a lie when they heard one.

Nathan watched on, his mood lifted a little, he knew his mate was safely tucked up in
her apartment with their pups for the moment, and to be honest, he needed a break
from all the stress, even Havoc chortled in his mind „he‟s so mating the nanny.‟

Nathan got up and jumped into the harassment of his friend, and suddenly Stephen was
being rolled around and pummelled by all of them, his efforts to get away were futile.
He spilled it, Suzzy was his human Mate and he was sneaking off to watch her. He‟d
scented her that first day they‟d gone to Jay-la‟s apartment. When she had Come out to
go home Rafe had gone nuts Screaming Mate over and over in his mind.
So, yes, he‟d been sneaking off to watch her each night. No actual contact yet, Stephen
told Rafe she would have to wait. Jay-la their Luna would have to take priority. Rafe was
annoyed but understood, it was his duty as much as Stephen‟s to protect Jay-la.

So when Jay-la was safely tucked up for the night they‟d sneak off to watch their mate
for a few hours, it placated them both.

Jackson had laughed the most and punched him “No wonder you were instant on us
baby sitting the, baby sitter while Jay-la was out for dinner. I did think it odd”

Stephen just smirked “What can I say,”

“Nothing” Ethan shoved him about “lucky bastard, when are you gonna mate and mark
her. I bet you‟re itching to.”

“Don‟t know yet:” he shrugged ignoring the rest of the comment.

“Bring her back to the pack with Jay-la” Nathan offered up “„ll give her a job. Heck, if she
wants she can stay their nanny, that would be fine with Jay-la l imagine, and being the
Gamma‟s mate, it‟s fine with me”, Thanks boss.‟ Stephen nodded “l‟d also be fine with
her being their nanny too, but…”

They all laughed at him, knowing he was thinking about not just mating her but
impregnating her as quickly as he could, and another round of pummelling started on
him. They were all rough housing, teasing him, poor bastard was going to be tormented
no end for trying to keep it a secret.

His father arrived at 7am. They were up, only managed a few hours‟ sleep. Surprisingly,
Nathan had gotten 3 and half hours sleep himself. The most he‟d had in a row in weeks.
He could occasionally nap on and off but actual decent sleep was nowa mystery to him.
It was like he just didn‟t know how anymore, he knew it was because he was worried
about his Mate Bond and how to fix it, that she and his pups were out there in the
human world in danger of being snatched, or harmed every second of the day and
night.

That she was right, he‟d turned the spotlight onto them. It was his fault, they were in
danger and his guilt, havoc‟s guilt would eat at them when they tried to sleep. Only
actual exhaustion of his body and mind allowed them to get a few hours sleep each
night. The rest was just tossing and turning because their minds wouldn‟t shut off.

His father looked tired, not something that you would normally see. He was strong and
dependable, rational and currently so laid back nothing phased him. He must be utterly
emotionally exhausted and worn out, Nathan knew it wasn‟t because his mother had
bedded him all night long, that gave his father a happy tired nature, a constant lazy
smile on his face. This was something different.

He sank down onto the couch and accepted the cup of espresso “Jay-la and Kora…” he
sighed “are not in a good state son… made your mother‟s maternal instincts c***k to
breaking point. Your Mate‟s emotional state around you is dreadful to be honest.”

Nathan frowned “What do you mean exactly?” Havoc was up and intently listening „go
to mate now‟ just wait a bit hear father out‟

“She actually believes you mean harm to her or that you are going to separate her from
her pups. She and Kora‟s distress levels during a conversation with your mother flowed
out of her so much it physically affected your mother… brought her actual pain which in
turn I felt, and got me out of my chair, damn fast. I thought she was injured that Jay-la
had physically harmed her.

“Is mum alright?” Nathan now had something else to worry about, the worries were just
piling up more and more.

To be honest.. No…she sobbed herself to sleep, I have never seen her do that in all the
years I‟ve known her:” he drained his espresso “sobbed something about Luna ability in
overdrive. Jay-la can‟t control it, so her distress flowed like the Luna Calm, but Luna
Distress, it actually overpowered your mother altogether. She was hit with everything
that girl feels, her anxiety, fear, distress, it‟s all very nreal and deeply embedded into
them.”

Nathan was leaning forward now. “How is it possible that Jay-la has Luna abilities, she
doesn‟t even knowl am her mate.”

“And in reverse, flowing distress” Stephen frowned.

“I don‟t know.‟ his father shook his head, “l‟d suggest asking your mother, but I doubt
you‟d get a coherent answer out of her at the moment” he ran his hands through his
hair, pulling on it as he did when frustrated “What I do know son, is why she is fighting
so hard against you. So hard not to come home, why she is so very defiant.to protect
her pups from your Luna”

“What?” Nathan‟s frown deepened “Sophia has been gone along time.”

Yes son, you and I know that, but she didn‟t know that. I informed her last night, I did it
in the hope that it would calm her down and bring her stress levels under control a bit.”

“Did it work?”

“Not at all” he shook his head and sighed heavily “you want the kicker?”

“Probably not.but go ahead” both he and Havoc knew they were not going to like what
was about to come out of his mouth.

“Kora… sized me up… I have not heard such a viscous threatening sound like that, she
was ready to try and take me on, to be honest even Storm my wolf wasn‟t sure he could
take her, she sounded all primal and her demeanour. he shook his head I couldn‟t
understand it, we always got along, never had any issues no animosity between us, it
was very concerning to say the least!

Nathan‟s eyes were wide now. “In public?” he asked.

“Yes, Kora didn‟t care at all, was definitely going to attack me. I think your mother
understood, all l and Storm got was a s**t load of pure aggression radiating off of her
and then my instincts kicked in, I was ready to shift in less than a second all my Alpha
blood boiling and pumping through us ready to fight her.”

“She was challenging you?”

“I don‟t know if it was a challenge, so to speak, but a fight it was going to be. I can only
imagine a very bloody one and the outcome either you or your mother, would have
been mate-less by the end of it.”
“Fuck” fear was creeping into him and Havoc.

“Indeed.”

“I‟ll go talk to her.” Stephen was on his feet instantly.

“I‟ll go with you.” Jackson piped up.

You two can‟t even stand to be in the same room together at the moment” Stephen
shot at him.

“I‟m fine, trust me, she just knows how to push my buttons, I‟ll be fine”.

Nathan let them go, but as they got to the door “wait, maybe she just needs some
space…watch her but don‟t get close, back all the wolves off to a safer distance, close
enough to help if trouble arises but far enough away to give her breathing room.” he
needed her to calm down.

„Mate strong‟

„Appears so!

„Good, I want a strong Mate.!

Nathan, however, was worried. If she truly wanted away from him at all cost, nothing
was going to stop her, if Kora was willing to take on his father, would she do the same
to them?

„No, Mate will want us!

„Mate appears terrified of us Havoc‟

„Mark and Mate‟

You think that is the answer to everything‟ Nathan frowned.

Havoc snorted „Mark and Mate.‟ he repeated firmly.

It was impossible to Sway his wolf, Havoc wanted his Mate and would have her whether
she liked it or not.

“perhaps after all this time on her own, she can‟t handle all the wolf attention she is
suddenly getting”

“Or perhaps she has lived in fear, for all these years, that it‟s all she knows now.” his
father replied, sadness etched into his words.

We did this to her. His chest ached with pain. He sighed he had really fucked things up
“i need to get her on to pack territory where I can contain her.”

“Hmm could possibly help..though if I were you son, I‟d be bring out the big guns.”

“What exactly are, the big guns father?” he was confused, “there isn‟t anything more
powerful than you or I?”

His father laughed at him, “still learning, I see. Oh yes there is son.” he let it hang in the
aira full minute before realising Nathan had no idea what he was talking about and
continued “aren‟t you always aiming to please your mother on all accounts.”

“Mum‟s already tried, got broken from my understanding” he frowned at his father.

“Not you‟re mother son. Her mother…Children, no matter how old always want their
mummy. Even you…”

Nathan snorted in disbelief.

“Come on son, I‟ve seen that fear when she stalks into a room and you know your about
to get it,” his father smirked at him “Even the mighty Alpha before me, backs down to
his mummy.”

Ethan barked with laughter, but stopped dead when Nathan shot him a death glare.
Unfortunately, they had all seen him raise his hands defensively and submit to his
mother on occasion, not often but certainly where Jay-la was concerned.

“So you want me to bring Vera out here?”

“Couldn‟t hurt son.”

“I‟ll think on it.” he nodded, Vera and her Mate Jody and their son Bradley had not
talked to him since he‟d banished her. Jody had even stopped training the Alpha team.
Stated point blankly to his face “Respect will be given when it is earned” and he had
simply walked away from the unit, a unit he had been training all their lives.

The loss of his daughter had hurt him and he now only trained the junior wolves, and
would not be swayed. Not even his father had been able to convince him. Nathan hadn‟t
been privy to the conversation between the two of them and his father had not relayed
it ever.

Her brother Bradley, an excellent warrior, trained and in line to take over his father‟s
position had also walked away from the position when it was offered to him. Now he
assisted his father with the juniors. Though that had worked out quite well for the pack
as all the youngsters were well trained, hand to hand before they even got their wolves,
made them better and more efficient fighters, his pack was actually stronger now than it
had been 6 years ago.

Vera was still running the pack Creche but avoided him, even when his mother had
asked him to pick up his baby sister Halley from the creche, Vera would see him coming
and turn and walk away leaving one of the other she-wolves to get her. When usually
the drop off and delivery was done by Vera herself as the lead wolf running the Creche,
but not where he was concerned.

He was actually totally surprised they hadn‟t defected back to her original pack. That
thought brought his mind to his conversation with Jackson about Alpha Austin‟s offer to
join the Winter Moon Pack.

“Father, do you know of Alpha Austin?”

“From Winter Moon Pack?”

“Yes”

“Yes, why?”
“He‟s personally offered Jay-la a place in his pack, and she is actually entertaining the
idea, I believe”

That grabbed his father‟s attention, a frown appeared on his face and he looked directly
at his son „Hmm..why him?”

“Apparently her grandmother is from there” he elaborated,

“Oh..” he seemed to think about it for a long time, several minutes went by without a
word “I wouldn‟t allow it. Not that he
would harm her or your pups. Quite the opposite, I think. A good pack for her to go to,
if you weren‟t her Mate, that is.”
“then why not allow it?” He was very curious. If this pack could make her feel safe, then
he should let her, perhaps good for them to calm down and feel safe. He could always
call Alpha Austin and explain she was his Mate and get permission to visit, much better
circumstances then now and it wasn‟t that far from his pack just a 2 hour drive. She
didn‟t have to be told he was coming, just let her smell him and hunt out her Mate, that
might actually solve the issue at hand. Havoc huffed. He was unhappy but it could work.

“The man is un-mated son. For nearly a century, he has women falling all over himself to
be the future Luna of his pack. He‟s considered one of the best looking wolves there is.
He‟s on the Alpha Council, is well respected and liked by most, not many enemies to be
honest, and his pack is exceptionally strong. Everyone trains even the Omega‟s rank up
to warrior status if they so desire. He is fair and honest. Treat‟s his pack with respect and
they give it back in spades.”

“So?” Why should this bother him? If he was fair and honest, that meant hearing she was
his Mate just meant that the man would allow hinm to come for her.

“Might be an ulterior motive in there somewhere. He is very strategic. Jay-la is very easy
on the eye, her wolf is stunning and fierce. It‟ll undoubtedly attract him to her and she
has 3 pups already. So fertile. He has no heirs that l am aware of. If he takes them in, he
might decide to choose her as his chosen mate, and if she says yes for whatever reason
„protection most likely‟;, he‟ll likely bleed your pups into his line and BAM he has a male
heir instantly and one with Alpha blood. You‟ll have no claim to them at all after that.”

“ll call him first and make sure he knows I‟m her mate.”
“He might not care, son. if he‟s offering a place he has likely seen the battle going on
and is on her side. It will appear to the council you harmed her and if they find out you
harmed your Mate they may take her side…you never know with them and he‟s on the
council.”

No-one takes our pups, Havoc snarled

I know buddy‟ Nathan tried to placate him „l agree

“I don‟t think Jay-la would accept a chosen Mate. She was always a big believer in Fated
Mate‟s. It‟s one of the reasons when I met Sophia, she stepped back and didn‟t even get
mad.”
“Mm, a good wolf she is,” his father agreed, “just something else that will attract an
Alpha male in search of a good Mate.”

“Could you call him them?” “Yes son, I will give him a call and alert him to the nightmare
that is your Mating Bond. See what he says. Perhaps he‟ll bring her in and you can go
there to find her!”

“That‟s my thoughts exactly. If she needs time to calm down and feel safe, then I owe it
to her to give it to her”

„Mate needs us‟ Havoc sighed. He saw the logic but didn‟t like it.

„I know but..‟

„Distress and fear overwhelms our Mate, Kora needs me! Havoc grumbled.

Just wait, I promise just one week and we‟ll go and get her ourselves.

What if not there? he huffed.

It‟s likely she will go there, her grandmother is there.!‟

He could feel Havoc‟s resistance to the idea, he was not patient in the least and he was
doing his best to be at the moment, something Nathan really appreciated. Especially
with them being so close to their Mate, maybe 35 to 40 minutes away. But from what his
father had told them today, it might not go down so well. His mum was broken by her
distress.

If her distress poured out in front of Havoc, it could set him off into a raging
uncontrollable beast here in the human world and neither of them needed that. Nor did
HavoC need for Kora or the pups to see how uncontrollable his anger could get, might
just frighten her even further, even if they recognised them as their Mate she might
reject him on the spot.

“I‟ll go and call him..I should get back to your mother…whose in charge back home if we
are all here?”

“Abbey.”

“Goddess help us alL” he half laughed ” Hopefully it‟s still your, Pack son, when you get
home.”

“it will be, I threatened her mate if she so much as thought about trying to take over
while I‟m away.”

“Did you now?”

“Nathan waved his hand dismissively and leaned back in his chair. It‟s fine.”

He watched his father leave.

Ethan was staring at him You did make her believe you though right? “Of course I did”
Nathan laughed. Everyone was terrified something would happen to him and she was
going to take over. He rubbed a hand over his face, he was feeling tired again, needed a
proper sleep, but doubted he would get it, just one more possible issue piling up on
him and his Mate Bond. Would he ever be able to Sort it out.

“We need to research anything on Luna powers that could indicate a reason why they
would be in reverse.”
“Yeah and how she got them in the first place… you know she was such a happy wolf, so
full of life and playful all the time, how did it come to this? Has she been so full of fear
all these years that she can‟t comprehend anything else?”

“I don‟t know Ethan, I hope not” What if the pups are also affected just like that? He
didn‟t want to think about it to be honest.

Neither did Havoc. Nathan felt him suddenly recede to the back recesses of his mind.
Nota good thing, not when he did it willingly, he was probably planning his own agenda
back there, and when he enacted it Nathan just knew he was not going to be able to
stop him.

“So much pain and distress it broke mum, that can‟t be a good thing at all”

“How are we going to bring her in?”

“Carefully, perhaps let her go for now altogether.” he didn‟t like it but it might be the
only option.

“What? Havoc will never agree to that.”

“Havoc will understand, her mental state needs to come first.”

We know she thinks I want to punish her for that hit to Sophia.

We know she thinks or blames me for her injuries that day.

We know she felt all our anger and fury and couldn‟t scent us because of the drugged
state she was in.

She just found out last night that Sophia and l are no longer Mates, and so maybe some
of that fear will go away, worrying that your Luna would hurt your pups, a legitimate
fear, would have always been a constant fear for her. That can go now. He thought to
himself, perhaps things might start to get better now We need to wait and see what will
happen over the next day or 2, give her room to breath and calm down”

“lets start researching then Boss.”

Chapter 21

Jay-ła POV

Nate woke her, her eyes opened and she was staring right at his face. It was barely an
inch from hers, his big bright green eyes held a question in them, he was worried about
something she could sense it. See it actually, it was written all over his beautiful face.

“What‟s wrong baby?” she asked and then yanked him into. the bed for a cuddle.

“You didn‟t come home,…on time.

“Long night, is all. l am fine. she hugged him reassuringly, not that she actually felt it.

“Suzzy just left.”

“Okay. How about we just get away for the day…go to the beach. Winter is almost here.
It might be our last chance to get there for awhile.” She really did just want to forget
everything that happened last night, even if it was just for a few hours, could they just
be a normal happy family unit fora few measly hours, she knew the kids could be, but
could she? She didn‟t know, but would definitely try.

“Yay.” he practically screamed in excitement and started to struggle to get up and out of
her arms “I‟ll tell the girls.”

Jay-la let him get outof her arms, she sat herself up. Her eyes burned with not enough
sleep, she really did need this.

Last night had drained both her and Kora completely. Kora was still settled in the back
of her mind, she would not wake her.

Poor wolf had been through so much in just a short amount of time.

Jay-la had never felt so much fury come from her wolf as she did last night. Pure
instinctual rage and aggression, the primal need to fight for her pups had completely
taken over her and nothing, not even an Alpha wolf, was going to take her away from
her pups.

If there had been an actual fight last night, Jay-la knew that Kora would have been
fighting with everything she had, with every ounce of goddess-gifted strength and
aggression she had been gifted with. Jay-la had always known Kora was a strong, tough
wolf, but they had never had the need to use all of her abilities, til now that was.

It would have been a fight to the death. There would have been no stopping her once it
started.

She got up out of her bed and yawned, could hear her children yelling and talking to
each other all excitedly, getting everything they needed ready for the trip to the beach.

Goddess knew they all needed a good bit of stress relief.

That thought brought Tim to her mind. She wondered if he would come over tonight.
She‟d call him, could really use a hug herself and if anything else happened well, she‟d
use it to get as much stress out of her as possible. Poor bastard better hydrate well
before hfetomes over.

She washed her make-up off from last night. No wonder Nate had been worried, there
were notice able runs from her eyeliner and mascara down her face where she had been
crying.

She didn‟t even actually recall tears falling, new she had sobbed at Kora, but when had
the tears streamed out of her, had she looked this bad when she had come home last
night?

Was that why Jackson and Stephen had stared at her with concerned looks on their
faces? If this was how she had come down from the roof, then it was possible they were
genuinely concerned about her, especially if they had no idea of what happened.

She scrubbed her face clean, brushed her teeth and hunted her blue and white striped
bikini and dark blue shorts, pulled on a white loose fitting over shirt and a pair of
sandles. Stepped out of her bedroom to find the girls wearing matching yellow
swimsuits with white polka dots and a white frilly ruffle around their hips and off their
shoulders, Goddess, they were so cute, so beautiful. Nate wore a dark blue sun shirt and
black board shorts, all had sandals on.

They ate breakfast and were then out of the building and on their way by 10am. It was a
good day. She didn‟t smell a single wolf thank the goddess.

While she watched the children play, she sent Suzzy a message apologising for the
lateness of her return and informed her she had paid her for the entire night. Suzzy told
her it was not necessary, Jay-la relayed it was already deneand notto worry about it.
Thanked her for being such a wonderful person and helping her out so much.

It took her a good 45 minutes to get her ass up and actually start playing with her
children. Kora was up and wanted to run around and chase them too. So that was what
they did, splashing water on them, tossing them into the ocean where the waves were
only small today, they could all swim. They kept running at her, begging to be picked up
and tossed into the water. She and Kora obliged their every whim.

This was what was worth it to her, these moments of fun and laughter, their family time
together. As long as nothing happened, they could be in a pack in as little as a week,
possibly stay there and actually try and assimilate into a pack, one with her
grandmother. Give her precious babies the life they should have always known.

Winter Moon Pack would be steeped in snoW very soon and the kids would get their
first taste of a white winter, she and Kora were sure her own grandmother would help
them build their first snowman and have their first snowball fight.

She was actually looking forward to it. If all went well, she would not be coming back to
the human world. That might tick Eric off, but he would just have to understand. She
would be safe from Nathan there and that was what was best for her children and
herself. She hoped he wouldn‟t be to pissed off.

She would have to give up all her clients, they would be upset or angry with her but she
would recommend them to other lawyers that would suit their needs.

The actual thought of belonging to a pack was a little overwhelming she had been alone
to long she guessed, might take some getting used to, or she might just be able to relax
and fit right in, she had no idea at this point, not after last nights revelation about her
own emotional state.

She and the triplets all flopped down on their towels after a good hour of running
around laughing and having fun, actual fun somewhere along the way she did actually
forget about her fears, it was nice.

She bought them ice cream from the surf club shop, and got herself a strawberry
milkshake, they all argued playfully over what to have for lunch and ended up with
burgers and fries.

They ate out, a nice little cafe not that far from the beach. And then returned to the
apartment to let the triplets spend the afternoon watching movies, while she caught up
on the house work.

She sat them down and told them about their up coming trip to her grandmothers next
weekend, she saw they were all shocked, she had never mentioned any family to them
before, but they seemed excited about the trip and the prospect that it might already be
snowing there.

Chapter 22

Stephen POV

They were perched on a sand dune some distance away, just watching their future Luna,
unaware of what she actually was to them, and ordered not to tell her either, their Alpha
wanted her to scent him of her own accord, thought it would be better that way, so she
wouldn‟t think that they were trying to trick her into coming home. Frustrating to say
the least.

If he could only tell her, he knew that he could bring her in, he could use his Charm to
convince her and get her to co-operate.

She was his job, to protect and serve as the Luna and her pups guards, she would have
to believe him other wise why would he be here in the first place, it bugged him that she
hadn‟t already thought of that herslf, but then she may just think he was here for the
pups alone, but if that was the case why was he always with her and not them, stubborn
she-wolf.

Jackson was sitting beside him, filming the antics that were taking place, it had taken her
a long time to join in with the children, probably still to stressed about last night.

His eyes moved to the Beta “You miss her!” he commented looking at the smile on the
mans face, it was all happiness, he was enioying watching her, whether it was because
she was finally displaying happiness herself, or because he was seeing her in new light, a
mother who was good with her pups, or because she was damned near naked in that
bikini, he was yet to figure out, heck it could be a combination of all three things.

“So do you.” he replied casually back, not taking his eyes off of her.

“Not like you do…” his implication left hanging in the air.

Jackson turned and looked at him with a raised eyebrow

“What are you trying to say?”

“That you‟ve hada crush on Jay-la for like forever.”

“So, I‟m allowed to look.” he shrugged his attention turning back to the person in
question.

“Only till she comes home, then what?”

“Then nothing, everything goes back to the way it used to be doesn‟t it. She‟ll be with
Nathan once again..just like before.

“Is that going to be a problem?”

“No, she is not my fated mate. Just cute and nice to look at.

“you sure about that?”

“Yes, Stephen. I would never betray the Alpha, punch him in the face maybe, but never
betray him.”

“Good because I‟d hate to get her back only to loose you over it.

Jackson chuckled “I want the group back together as well.. Like old times.”

“Let‟s hope we can get back to it.” Stephen mused aloud.

Jackson looked right at him and nudged him, “Come on Stevie, look at our girl. If that
isn‟t our Jay-la right there, I‟ll go running through our pack dead of winter butt ass
naked in the freezing cold risking my favourite parts to be played with to frost bite.”

Stephen burst out laughing the use of his friendly nick name, plus the use of our girl,
that was how they had all referred to her, where is our girl, when is our girl coming
home from uni, what time is our girl supposed to bring dinner, lets go hunt ourn girl
down etc.

“You‟re such and idiot…but seriously I saw how you and Apollo alike reacted to herwhen
she flirt with the two of you in her office.”

“Yeah I guess, can‟t help it.” his eyes moved back to Jay-la.

“Just look at her, Nathan is going to go completely nuts seeing her in that tiny
bikini…Hahaha, I can‟t wait to see his reaction. Probably run off for a shower and well
you know…” he wiggled his eyebrows at Stephen suggestively.

Stephen punched him and they were both laughing out loud now, at the thought of
their Alpha needing to get a release with all of them sharińg a suite. Ha ha, would he?
Stephen wondered.

He knew, they all knew, Havoc had not allowed a single she-wolf near him since his
failed mate bond, 2 and a half years of nothing.

That was a bloody long time for wolves who were naturally horny critters, Alpha‟s had
needs stronger than the average wolf too.
“Is that why you‟re filming the woman. Is it to torture him or embarrass him? Jackson
grinned at him “A little of bothl guess.”

“Wanna have a bet on how long it takes him to hit the shower?” Stephen chuckled, his
fear of Jackson‟s idea‟s on their future Luna appeased for now.

“Yep, I reckon less than 5 minutes after he sees it. You want to bet on how long he stays
in the shower?”

Stephen practically rolled over laughing “Your on, at least 30 minutes.”

They sat and watched her, she was a great mum, Stephen thought. Goddess help their
dumb-ass of an Alpha to get her back and don‟t let Havoc screw it up and go all beastly
scaring her to death.

They watched from their car as she took the kids out for burgers and fries, a typical
Saturday of no work, relaxing and from what he‟d heard this morning, she truly did need
it.

Hearing about her distress his instincts had wanted him to come rushing over to her and
wrap her up in his Gamma Charm to help ease her distress it was everything he was built
to do and he bloody well couldn‟t do it.

She needed to relax and unwind and feel free and safe even if for a‟day. Keeping their
distance was a good idea, he thought.

Perhaps Nathan did know what he was doing leaving her out here in the human world
for now, who knew? Stephen personally want to tranquillise the she-wolf and her 3 pups
and transport them back to the pack, though that hadn‟t gone down well last time, but
he would do it himself so he could make sure she stayed unconscious the entire trip. He
would put them all in the alpha‟s suite, her directly in his bed and she would wake up
next to him.

The first thing she would smell would be her mate and then she would roll over and see
him, smile and bingo problem solved, they would surely mate and mark right away, it
wasn‟t as if they had never had s*x before, they had 3 pups and had been sleeping
together every weekend she‟d been home from university for over a year.
His way would be much quicker, much more efficient too he thought.

Perhaps I should bring it up with the Alpha, though Stephen was pretty certain he would
never agree to it.

So he figured he had only one ally in this plan, she was completely crazy and would
totally approve it, but for his way to be obtained their Alpha himself would have to be
completely incapacitated.

Hmm.. „treasonous thought that‟ Rafe piped in. „but would solve the issue and then we
could come and get Suzzy.

„still he would punish us terribly‟

„Would be worth it.‟

Chapter 23

Nathan POV

The research was going nowhere on reverse Luna‟s powers, but they had found more
than a dozen cases where the Goddess herself saw fit to gift out Luna‟s abilities to she-
wolves for various reasons.

Most to do with them having Alpha pups without the Alpha knowing about it. Another
reason was to attract multiple Alpha Mates who could protect her and her pups.

The Goddess also saw fit to gift her she-wolves the right to choose a mate for herself
due to varying traumatic situations that they had been through in their lives. It appeared
she watched out for her she-wolves, some more than others it seemed.

Well, his girl fit all of those descriptions.

Nathan could only pray to the Goddess himself that he didn‟t have to try and win her
over from other alpha males who scented her out as their mate. He was now worried
about her visiting the Winter Moon Packa hundred times more.

Alpha Austin was un-mated and trustworthy. What if the goddess saw fit to bless him
with Jay-la as his Mate too? If he wasn‟t right there when she arrived and she was
blessed with more than one mate, she would never know he was her mate and just give
in to the goddess-gifted bond and he would lose her instantly.

He heard Havoc snarl in his mind loudly and viciously. It was the first he had felt him all
day and it was near lunchtime.

Nathan had not even realised that his wolf was back with him, sneaky bastard, so very
quiet he had been, goddess knows how long he had been there watching from within.
Stalking his own human counterpart.

Jackson and Stephen had reported her leaving her apartment this morning, taking the
pups with her, they had gone to the beach. No further reports had come in. He could
only presume she was still there, for he knew they would report all her movements for
the day without hesitation.

They returned to the hotel suite just after 2pm, both seemingly in a much better mood
than when they had left, they were both smiling and chuckling about something, a
private joke of some sort.

Havoc was instantly displeased at their lack of report the second they had walked in the
door, he wanted to know about his mate, not a second should he have to wait to hear it
and he let out a low warning growl to alert them to his annoyance at their slackness to
report to him the instant the door opened and they walked in.

“Down boy.‟ Jackson smiled at him “she had a nice day at the beach. I even film her for
you, so you can see for yourself”

Stepheņ nudged him and started laughing,” Start the clock now, hey.”
Nathan frowned at them both, what was that about? He held his hand out, both he and
Havoc wanted to see her, especially if she‟d had a nice day, perhaps she would smile. He
missed her smiling at him.

Jackson flicked through his phone and then handed it over to him. It was quite a long
video, it looked as though Jackson had just let it run the whole time they were with her,
watching her and his pups. He did note that Jackson‟s phone battery was low sitting at
only 10%. He‟d likely not get to watch all of it before the battery died.

Nathan sent a copy to his phone before hitting the play button. He didn‟t care what was
on it, he wanted it on his own phone to watch whenever he saw fit, or when Havoc
wanted to or needed calming down. If it was a nice day, then surely what they were
about to watch would calm his beast when raging about.

His eyes, with Havoc right there on the surface, never left the screen as he watched her
run around and play with their pups. She was damned near na*ked in that tiny blue and
white bikini, goddess. She was beautiful, wonderful with the pups. He could watch her all
day long.

He was struggling not to become fully aroused by the way he could see her br-easts
bouncing as she jumped around and tossed their pups into the water, or the cleavage
that was on full display for all to see, and when she bent over fully, and he got an eye
full of her a*ss, goddess all he could think about was yanking her to him and slamming
inside her hard and fast, bending her over anything and everything to get what he
wanted.

Havoc too was practically drooling over their Mate, she looked so very happy with their
pups, it only made his desire for her increase. She was a se*xy damned mother.

A nice day at the beach indeed. Havoc could see Kora at times and whined for his Mate.
He missed her, wanted her, needed her, just as much as Nathan wanted Jay-la herself.

The pups all seemed so happy, running about on the beach with her and playing with
each other. He hoped they would like him, he knew they could bond quickly with them.
It would be completely natural, they would be drawn to him as he was to them, but
could he have that kind of relationship with them one day too? He certainly hoped so.
The phone died and he nearly smashed it. At the sudden loss of seeing his mate on the
screen, Jackson retrieved it from him quickly before he could slam it to the ground “Use
your phone boss.”

He laughed at the sudden change of temperament from him and Havoc. They had
indeed been happy and calm watching the footage of their mate and pups, and when it
had suddenly gone, Havoc‟s anger had been instant.

“Why don‟t you go watch it in private?” Jackson added, still smiling.

Stephen punched him in the arm. ” That‟s cheating.”

Nathan frowned at the two of them, but it was a good idea he wouldn‟t mind watching
it on his own. Some alone time would allow him and Havoc to react naturally without
worrying about anyone else seeing it. He simply nodded, stood up and grabbed his
phone and headed for his bedroom and closed the door.

He heard both of them burst out laughing, and frowned, was he missing something? He
shook his head. He didn‟t care at this very minute and dismissed it. Fools the pair of
them. But they had brought him an hour-long video of his mate and pups.

He was truly thankful for that and so was Havoc for that matter. Fools, yes, but good
friends indeed. Goddess, the more he watched it the more he wanted her, his body
reacting to her near na*kedness was hard to ignore now that he was alone. He took the
video and hit the shower to sort out his needs.

When he did finally get her back in his bed, she was not getting out of it for days, she
would not be able to walk when he was finished with her, she would be all weak-kneed
and jelly-legged and utterly exhausted, not to mention hoarse from all the damned
screaming she was going to be doing and he knew he could do it to her, had done
many times before.

He could already piçtúre in his mind what he was going to do to her, goddess, he was
aroused all over again, just thinking about the different positions he was going to take
her in, the sounds of her moaning, the begging she would do when she was ready for
him but he was still enjoying tasting her and teasing her, the way she would call to him
„please Alpha, in that se*xy desire filled voice of hers when should couldn‟t stand it
anymore and was desperate to have him inside of her, the damned scent of her arousal
around him, driving him insane with need to furiously mate the hell out of her till she
screamed his name, he was never getting out of this shower at this rate.

He flopped down on his bed sometime later with just a towel and nothing else on, sleep
begging at him, his eyes turned to his phone and he let the video play again and drifted
off to sleep watching her play with their pups.. this was his family.

He woke to rage pouring through every fibre of him, Havoc was going absolutely
ballistic inside his mind, he was ripping at everything and was in full control and Nathan
had no idea what the hell was going on.

“Jackson” he roared though the mind-link, calling for his Beta to help him understand
the situation at hand. It was a losing battle trying to take back control because all he
was getting from Havoc was „kill, kill, kill‟ Nathan could feel that his body was already in
the process of shifting, He could hear his bones snapping and cracking. He was fighting
with everything he had to regh control, but whatever had happened he had slept right
through it, but obviously Havoc had not.

“I know,” Jackson shot back. His voice sounded as though he was in pain, “Working on it,
resist, with everything you have boss,” there was desperation and fear in his voice and
he could feel that all three of them were on his half-shifted body, trying to contain
Havoc and his rage, who had complete control and there was no way Nathan was
getting it back it seemed unless Havoc willingly gave it up, Havoc was shoving him back
to the darkest corner of his mind, he did not want to be contained, he wanted his blood
lust filled at all cost.

Nathan was desperately trying to stop him from attacking his friends. He could feel
Havoc lashing out and them all trying to stop him, the growling and snarling that was
coming from all of them was tremendously loud and aggressive.

“Get him out of the apartment. NOW” he heard Jackson yelling at someone.

His wolf hearing picked up Jay-la‟s voice. Jackson must have called her, he was trying to
contain Havoc and hold down a conversation at the same time. Was he crazy? He
needed all his focus here.
“Unless you want your human friend to die, GET HIM OUT NOW”

Havoc was ripping at the three of them. He could feel it, they were trying to hold him
down but his beast was insanely strong when as fullfage as it appeared he was, they
were not able to pin him down and hold him down, it seemed, and therefore a fight was
ensuing. They were trying to stop what Nathan could only imagine was a killing spree of
magnitude proportions, of everything in his path, not to mention a half-shifted Alpha
wolf running from here to her place.

Only one thing could have set his beast off into this kind of murderous rage. Either Jay-
la was having s*x with her human boyfriend or was about to. Pain hit him too at the
thought of that. Not even wanted to know which it was.

Havoc‟s reaction was pure anomalistic rage. Nathan was now fighting twice as hard,
there was no guarantee that Jay-la would come out of this unscathed, even if she did
not know they were her Mate, Havoc knew, and this type of thing had not gone down
so well last time. Havoc had nearly killed his Mate last time.

“Jay-la damn it. I need to hear you tell him to leave.”

Jackson was trying to convey the urgency of the situation to her but she had no idea of
how dangerous a situation she was in right this minute, had no idea of Havoc‟s rage,
that it could be so uncontrollable.

“It‟s my life, why?”

“You don‟t understand. He‟s here in the city and is going ballistic. Havoc is in complete
control. Tell him to leave or he will die Jay-la. I‟m 100% serious.” he snapped, using all
his Beta authority to fly and conveý just how important it was.

Give mea minute,” she muttered, seemingly unimpressed.

“Don‟t hang up, need to hear it,” he yelled as he crash tackled all his weight onto Havoc
using all of Apollo‟s strength to help him hold onto Havoc. How could she not
understand the urgency with all the growling and snarling and fighting she must be
hearing on her end of the line.
This was probably the right time for Havoc to unleash his Mate Call, but the damned
beast was so blinded by his rage and blood lust that he didn‟t seem to have the sense to
know it.

There was a conversation at the other end of the line. Nathan strained to hear it over the
fighting, knowing if he heard it Havoc would too. There was a man with her. He
recognised the name Tim and heard her ask him to leave, made up some excuse about a
work emergency. She stayed on the line until he was gone.

“He‟s gone, are you happy now?” she snapped, sounding angry and disconnected the
call, but at least she had actually listened and complied, she was alone now in her
apartment.

Returning his attention to the current situation unfolding in the hotel suite, Nathan
could hear all three of them begging him to calm down, to relinquish control back to
Nathan, reassuring Havoc that nothing had happened, that the man had only been in
her apartment for 10 minutes, and that nothing had happened there hadn‟t been
enough time for anything to happen between them.

Havoc was not happy at all, his rage needed to be let out.

“Havoc buddy. Nathan tried cajoling him „we‟re in the human world, you can‟t go out of
the room. You can‟t go and kill anything. Please buddy, calm down. he was practically
begging his beast.

„Kill him, touch Mate‟ back to not being able to string a full sentence together again.

„Not today‟ Nathan said, but not taking it off the table, just moving it to another time in
the hope that his beast would calm down.

Nathan could smell blood. It was heavy in the air, it was a mixture of all their blood
including his own, he felt Havoc actively stop fighting them and he finally got to see
through Havoc‟s eyes, as Havoc stopped trying to keep him in the deepest recesses of
their mind, his men had backed away slowly, all their wolves on the surface ready to try
and contain him again, if he should lash out again or try to rip through them to get out
of the hotel suite.
He was still half-shifted, all claws out and teeth showing, they were all injured from
trying to contain him, Ethan had a bite mark on his right shoulder and gashes from
Havoc‟s claws to his ch3st and arms.

Stephen was covered in claw marks all over his ch3st, his shirt shredded to pieces, and
there was more than one bite mark on his arms. Jackson‟s clothing was practically non-
existent, just tattered shreds. He had claw marks on both his legs across his ch3st and
one gash down his face.

He had probably been the first one to respond to Havoc‟s sudden appearance and took
the initial brunt of the fighting.

Who had made the phone call he had no idea, he didn‟t have a damned clue as to what
was going on or how this had all come about. Havoc was still in control but was
standing still, snarling still coming from him, aggression still with him, though the
massive growling he had been doing during the fighting was gone, he was calming
down „relinquish buddy… I‟m sorry, I don‟t understand‟ he apologised to Havoc.

Then Havoc was suddenly gone, his body shifted back to his human form so fast that
Nathan stumbled and fell to the ground, landing on his knees. His eyes moved to
Jackson, Stephen and Ethan questioningly.

Havoc was completely gone, almost like the day Sophia had rejected them. He couldn‟t
sense him at all, not good.

“What happened?” he asked. AIl their wolves were staring at him through his friend‟s
eyes, they were starting to be healed by their wolves as well. With no pack doctor, they
would have to heal on their own.

“I don‟t understand.” and he didn‟t last thing he recalled was how happy he and Havoc
alike were watching that video as they drifted off to sleep.

He was watching all of them, and all three of them stood there still weary that Havoc
Would return. “He‟s gone, I assure you. I can‟t even feel him,” he said and got up off the
floor to go and get pants. He turned towards his room and stopped and stared at the
destruction that had been wrought.
There were claw marks all over the bedding, it was torn to shreds, springs from the
mattress could be seen, there was broken furniture, a busted chair lying on the left of
the bed, the bedside table was shattered and wooden shards were everywhere, claw
marks were all over the walls behind it.

The carpet was ripped and torn in several places about the room, the fight had not
stayed in one place as they had tried to contain him, the curtains were ripped and
hanging off the rod. There was blood everywhere. They had managed to keep him
contained in the bedroom, it appeared, but they had been tossed about all over the
place in their attempt to get a hold of him and keep him down.

They had all been fighting Havoc, the destruction of the room was clear, they had been
fighting with everything they‟d had. Thank the goddess, they all trained together and
knew him, how to handle him and his beast. He turned to look at them and noted one
of the doors to his room was hanging off its hinges and there were not only claw marks
on it but teeth marks as well. He had nearly gotten out, it appeared.

“fu*ck” he muttered, his eyes moved back to his friends‟ guilt washing over him “I‟m
sorry, but what the hell happened?”

His wounds were already healing, much faster than theirs, a bonus of being an Alpha. He
pulled a pair of pants on and headed for the med kit that they took everywhere with
them in case of emergency‟s, this counted. He took it back to them and opened it so he
could start tending to their wounds. He would be fine, it seemed.

For although he could no longer feel Havoc the beast that resided within him, buried
somewhere deep down inside of him, was actively healing him.

“You went to sleep after your very long shower, you were gone so long. I checked on
you,” Ethan stated. His wolf Thorn receded now, and accepted the help offered to clean
his wounds.

“You crashed out completely. I knew you weren‟t sleeping well of late, so we didn‟t
bother to wake you. Its nearly 10 pm Alpha, you slept like the dead all afternoon and
well into the night. Then Stephen got a call to report Tim going into Jay-la‟s apartment.
He was carrying an overnight bag. Havoc must have heard it.”
He sighed and winced when Nathan cleaned the bite mark from Havoc with rubbing
alcohol.

“I felt everything change in an instant and turned to see your whole body rigid, the
atmosphere was rapidly changing, anger was suddenly pouring off of your sleeping
body and I knew Havoc had heard thé call.” Jackson sighed as he was attending to
Stephens‟ wounds like Nathan was to Ethan.

The two of them tried to contain you while I tried to call her. It took her a minute to pick
up. I didn‟t think she was going to actually. Maybe Havoc picked up on it, then he was
shifting and I knew two of us were never going to be enough to contain him.

I hit the speaker phone and tossed it on the table to come to their aid. Havoc was not
happy about Apollo using all his strength to try and hold him down. We took a bit of a
beating, as you can see… Havoc was growling and snarling about killing everything”
Nathan could well imagine.

“A full-blown fight broke out and we had to use everything we had to contain him, try to
pin him down as best we could, as you can see…” he looked at the destruction of the
room behind him “not very well done, your beast is unpredictable, turned on us quite
quickly. When she finally picked up, I had to tell her to get him out or Havoc was going
to kill him. I let her know you were here in the city, sorry boss, but I had to.”

“It had to be done.” He couldn‟t blame them. It was his beast who had started it, they
had used everything from their training and knowledge of him and how he and his wolf
fought and managed to contain him, thank the goddess.

They all turned at the sound of banging on the hotel room door, sh!t, they were all
covered in blood. Nathan shooed them away to another room. He was the least injured,
shoved all the bloody gauze and wound dressings behind the couch and out of site of
the door, then ran to wash his ch3st and arms using all the speed he could, grabbed a
clean towel and dried himself off, calling out “just one minute”/

A female voice called right back “I am the night manager. Open the door now. There has
been a complaint,” her voice was calm but authoritative, she was confident in her
position and her dealings with rowdy guests.
He still had a few welts but there were no actual open wounds. He walked over and took
a deep breath as she banged on the door again. “l”„m coming in.” she yelled.

Nathan plastered on his most charming smile and opened the door before she could
use her master key card to access the suite, he leaned on the door frame right in front of
her, he was shirtless and his pants were hung very low on his hips, all his glorious
muscles were on display for her to see, he aimed his smile right at her and dropped his
voice to a low se*xy tone that he would reserve for his mate in future “how may I help
you, my dear?”

He watched as her eyes widened at the sight of his half-n*ked body and rippling
muscles, her eyes wandered over his na*kedness and lingered on his deep v-line, his
smile turned into an outright smirk, he knew he was damn good looking, no human
woman could ever resist him, she could barely contain her desire and lust, he could
smell it already. Nathan cleared his throat to get her attention away from his low-hung
pants and back to his Very deep blue eyes and she visually shook herself trying to regain
her composure.

“There was a noise complaint, animal noises. We don‟t allow pets here.”

“Oh, I‟m sorry, the boys and l were watching a monster movie and we like to turn the
volume all the way up,” he knew as the night manager she would know how many
people resided in the room.

She was staring at him, not sure whether to believe him or not.

He winked playfully at her “you want to join us?” he allowed his eyes to wander over her
body slowly, seductively” we‟re quite friendly and would all like some company!” he put
forward his suggestive tone, implying all four of them would enjoy sharing her.

He watched her brown eyes widen, “No.” she visually shuddered. A little scared and
disgusted, he thought, “Well, keep it down then.”

“We‟ll keep it down.” he nodded, still smiling all seductively like at her, allowing his eyes
to move over her body again to linger on her hips for almost a full minute “If you
change your mind?” he let it linger unsaid.
“Keep it down or I‟ll have to ask you to leave.” she frowned up at him, ignoring the
implied meaning he‟d left hanging unsaid.

“Of course, please do apologise to the other guests,” and he stepßed back into the
room and closed the door, one last playful wink at her before it closed. She wouldn‟t be
coming back in a hurry, too scared she‟d end up na*ked with 4 men doing her at once…
which is exactly what he wanted her to think, there weren‟t that many women who
would come back for something like that.

Jackson stepped out of the room they had all disappeared into and stared at him and
shook his head. “Really a gang bang, that was your go-to?”

“She won‟t come back, and that is the point.” he shrugged, then returned his attention
to their wounds. They would all be healed by morning but, until then a few patches were
needed, and Stephen had to have some staples which he knew the man would just pluck
out in the morning, nothing he couldn‟t handle.

How they would explain the state of the room, he had no idea. A bu*tt-a*ss load of
money, he imagined, along with the cost of the repair and refurbishment of the suite.

Chapter 24

Jay-la POV

Staring at the unknown number that was calling her new number, it did look familiar but
she couldn‟t quite place it.

Tim was in the kitchen making them a cup of tea, he smiled at her and she smiled right
back. She had leaned into his hug when he had arrived and really hugged him back. She
had needed it, he had chuckled and murmured “miss me sweets?

Jay-la had smiled just could really use a hug”.

He had squeezed her tightly at her words and not let go until she had stepped away
from him. He was so good to her.
She answered the phone when Tim stared at her with a raised eyebrow at her hesitation.
Maybe he thought she was embarrassed to take the call, or that she didn‟t want to, so
he didn‟t know who it was. She had never cheated on him, never even considered it.

“Get him out of the apartment now‟ was yelled at her down the line. She recognised
Jackson‟s voice instantly.

“How did you get this number?” she demanded.

“Get him out of the apartment NOW: he yelled again.

Jay-la could hear growling and snarling in the background, she frowned, it sounded as
though he was in the middle of a fight. But why call her of all people, in the middle of a
fight with another wolf? !diot didn‟t he have his priority‟s straight.

“Unless you want your human friend to die, GET HIM OUT NOW.”

She and Kora turned their attention to the background noise. The fight clearly involved
several wolves.

“Jay-la damn it, I need to hear you tell him to leave,

“It‟s my life, Why?” she stated not getting why, in the middle of a fight he was having,
was it so important to call her and demand her boyfriend leave? He had no right to ask
that, no-one did.

“You don‟t understand, he‟s here in the city and is going ballistic, all Havoc. Tell him to
go, or he will die Jay-la, I‟m 100% serious.” he was throwing his Beta aura down the line
but also seemed to be struggling to maintain the fight he was in. His tone left no room
for argument.

If Nathan was indeed here and Havoc was out and coming for Tim, due to the fact there
was another man around his pups, then she had no doubt that Havoc would kill him.

“Give me a minute” she muttered, unimpressed that they actually had this much control
over her life, she was going to have to comply to keep Tim safe. She didn‟t want any
harm coming to Tim. He was such a nice man and she really did like him.
“Don‟t hang up. Need to hear it.” he was yelling not at her, she thought, but to be loud
enough to be heard over the angry growling and snarling and banging and crashing
that was going on wherever they were, while they were dealing with a very pissed off
Alpha wolf. A shiver of fear ran down her spine.

She walked over to Tim, who had literally just got here like 5 minutes ago, and barely
had time to make them a cup of tea.

“Tim, I‟m so sorry an emergency has come up, one of my clients has stupidly breached
his AVO and is begging me to help him.”

“Do you want me to stay and watch the children, wait for you?”

“No, I‟ll call Suzzy, it‟s probably going to take a while, it‟s not the first breach either.”

“Ah! Alright sweets.” he nodded, but sounded disappointed to her. He‟d obviously been
looking forward to tonight.

“Again…‟m so sorry Tim.”

“l get it, I have dumb-ass clients too, that no matter what they don‟t do as they are told”
he grabbed his overnight bag that he‟d brought with him. It was the first time he‟d
packed to come over here. She really did feel bad for sending him away, if only he could
know the real reason.

She walked him out the door, her phone still in her hand.

He turned and leaned down to k!ss her. Jay-la didn‟t know if that was a good idea, it
might be picked up with wolf hearing and make things worse. She indicated to Tim that
she was still on the phone. He nodded, sighed and hugged her briefly before heading
for the elevator. “I‟ll call you.” he nodded to her and she smiled thankfully and
apologetically at him.

She put the phone to her ear after closing the door and snapped He‟s gone, are you
happy now?” and hit the end call button. She was not only angry with them, but with
herself.
She should not have let them force her hand, but by the sound of it, Havoc was on a
rampage of unknown proportions and she had truthfully believed Jackson when he told
her that he was 100% serious. So she had, had to comply. She hated obeying them for
him.

Jay-la woke in the morning with a start. There was loud aggressive banging on her
apartment door, she shot out of her bed. Was he here? Fear was already filling her. She
got out of bed in such a rush that she nearly fell face-first onto the floor as her feet were
tangled in the sheets.

Nate was up and standing in the twins‟ doorway, they to were up and he had his arms
protectively around them. “Its going to be okay, stay here” she told them, pushing them
into the twins‟ room and closing the door, if things went badly and a fight broke out,
she did not want them to see it.

She stood before the front door and listened to the thunderous banging on it. How had
they gotten past the doorman without him notifying her?

“Damn it Jay-la, open the door, or I‟m kicking it in: Micheal‟s voice yelled from the other
side of the door. Relief that it wasn‟t her pissed-off Alpha coming for his children swept
through her, though this was just another pissed-off alpha come to think of it.

His wolf hearing would have heard her coming to the door and his wolf senses must
have picked up her scent by now knowing she was at the door.

“how did you get up here?”

“How the bloody hell do you think? I went through your doorman. Open the damned
door now.”

“Okay.” she said a little nervously. This was just what she needed in her life. 2 pissed off
alpha wolves after her, she opened the door and he barged right in, stepping up to her
without hesitation, she stumbled back a few steps, then Kora rose to the forefront where
he could see her.

“Don‟t be stupid.” he snapped at her and her wolf “You will FIX IT he roared at her anger
spilling off of him.
“Fix what?” she asked, not knowing what he was talking about.

“Fix what?” he screamed in her face. “What the hell do you think, Rae-Rae left me..Its all
your fault, FIX IT” she could feel his anger boiling over and filling the air around her.

She hadn‟t meant to hurt him and Rae-Rae. It had just happened that way, she was truly
sorry to hear Rae-Rae had left him.

His phone was ringing and he grabbed it, jabbed an angry finger at it after checking the
caller ID and before he could get any words out Jay-la heard Nathan‟s voice roar an
alpha order down the phone “Get out of her apartment now.”

A shiver ran down her spine, she knew the power of that order, had been ordered by
him with so much rage behind it too once, his voice now reminded her of the pain of it
hitting her back then and forcing her to leave even though she hadn‟t truly wanted to.

Nathan knew Micheal was there in her apartment. How close was he? Fear was building
again, on top of what was already there.

Micheal backed out of the apartment but his eyes never left hers. “Fix it” he shot at her.

Jay-la nodded at him, indicating that she would try too, hoping he understood that she
was going to try.

She closed the door as he walked away, her heart was hammering inside her chest. She
turned on her heels, pushed the door to the twins room open. They were all standing
there staring up at her, “We‟re leaving, get dressed quickly.” she saw them all move.
None of them even argued, Jay-la packed just one suitcase for her and then tossing in
whatever she grabbed from the first draw in each of their rooms not really caring,
yanked on a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt.

Took the triplets and put them in her car and drove away from her apartment at high
speed.

She ignored her ringing mobile the whole time, it was ringing before she was even
packed. She had seen it was the same number as last night. Jackson was calling her, she
just pushed it into her back pocket and let it ring out she didn‟t care about anything
other than getting her children to safety right this minute.

She was headed for Tony and Lauren‟s place. Their house was in a gated community and
was surrounded by a 10ft high brick wall with security cameras everywhere. She had
always felt safe with them, behind their security protocols.

Thank the Goddess, Old Man Hill loved his daughter to bits, insisted on the walls and
the security cameras.

Jay-la could also try talking to Rae-Rae, Lauren and Tony while she was there. She had
ruined their Mate Bond, had not meant to and she needed to try and fix it. It was a
goddess-gifted bond. Micheal had not chosen Rae-Rae, she belonged to him and he to
her, it was sacred. She had a responsibility to try and salvage it if she could.

She pulled her car up out the front of their house having used the gate code to get past
the big gates, she got the triplets out of the car and grabbed the one suitcase she had
packed and walked them up the front door, pressed the doorbell while she was
fumbling in her handbag looking for the front door key to their house. It was barely 7 in
the morning.

She thought they would be awake but whether they were out of bed she didn‟t know. It
was Sunday morning, they could be lye in.

The door opened and Lauren stood there in her pyjamas, took in Jay-la and the triplets‟
unkempt appearances. She had not stopped to brush their hair or teeth, or even feed
them for that matter. They must all look dishevelled and she simply stepped aside.

“Sorry Lauren, I didn‟t have anywhere else to go right this minute”

“It‟s alright honey. What is wrong?” she asked, concern lacing her voice

How was she going to explain this, that Micheal had practically beat down her door after
beating up her doorman, to demand that she come here and talk to Rae-Rae, or that his
brother was now here for her children.
Jay-la hadn‟t even told Tony and Lauren that the triplets were Nathan‟s yet, whether
they had figured it out for themselves she did not know, she hadn‟t ever mentioned him
to them and her babies certainly didn‟t know who their father was, if she just suddenly
blurted it out in front of them, they might be hurt.

“Can we stay here for the night, or a few days maybe?”

“Of course honey. Is that all the luggage you brought?”

Yes she nodded, “no time to pack”

Lauren sighed and nodded Okay, you should call Eric right away if it‟s got to this point.”„
she then smiled down at the triplets. “off to the kitchen, lets get you some breakfast,
hey.”

They all nodded and went down the hall towards the kitchen.

Lauren‟s hand landed on Jay-la‟s shoulder. “how bad is it.

“I don‟t know. It wasn‟t him that got me to leave actually.

“Then who?”

“I need to talk to you all, including Rae-Rae.”

Lauren sighed heavily and looked up the stairs to the second floor. “She hasn‟t been out
of her room since dinner on Friday night Jay-la.”

“l‟m sorry, I never meant to hurt their relationship” she apologised, meaning every word.

Lauren shrugged “they‟d only known each other for 2 weeks by that time, I‟m not
concerned, she‟ll get over it. Probably for the best.”

Jay-la understood where Lauren was coming from, but she knew Rae-Rae, on the other
hand, was in terrible pain. She didn‟t truly understand why she was feeling so utterly
heartbroken, unable to cope with the loss of a man she had barely known.
Logically, she would try as a human to convince herself she would be okay, that she
hadn‟t known him well at all and that she was just being silly. But she was a gift to him
and he to her. Their very souls were meant for each other, and if they couldn‟t be
together, neither of them would ever be the same again.

“Breakfast first”, Lauren interrupted her thoughts. Jay-la nodded. Though she doubted
she would eat much. “I”ll take Rae-Rae‟s up to her‟

“She won‟t eat, just sends it back untouched”

“I‟ll convince her.” Jay-la assured her and she intended on convincing Rae-Rae to eat,
how she didn‟t know yet. She couldn‟t tell Rae-Rae that Micheal had threatened her if
she didn‟t fix it, he had not so much as said it with words but she understood his anger
all too well, she was going to fix it or he was going to blame her for everything and
come for her.

Hell he‟d already gone to her, telling her that would only make Rae-Rae more scared of
him and Jay-la had to talk her into giving him another chance.

The children were quiet, she asked them when in the car, not to mention the very angry
man who had come to their apartment this morning, prompting their sudden leaving
and coming here.

Jay-la took the breakfast tray up to Rae-Rae‟s room, knocked gently on the door and let
herself in, Rae-Rae was lying in her bed, her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy from all
the crying she had been doing, her eyes moved to Jay-la and she burst into tears. Jay-la
sighed she was the reason Rae-Rae had backed away from Micheal and probably did
not want to see her right now.

Jay-la couldn‟t blame her either, her whole world had come crumbling down that night.
Jay-la walked over to the bed regardless, and set the tray down on the bedside table,
“Rae-Rae I‟m so sorry..I never meant to hurt you and Micheal.

“It‟s not you Jay-la.‟ she sat up and looked at her tears still brimming in her big brown
eyes, “He knew you were like a sister to me, I told him as much and he didn‟t tell me
who he was related to..on purpose…kept it from me.”
“Maybe,” Jay-la offered up, “He didn‟t want to scare you off” she didn‟t think that was it,
but what else could she say when she was there on his behalf technically.

“He hurt me, he lied to me..do you know how many times he could have told me…l
should have listened to mum and dad. I don‟t know him at all, l‟m so stupid” she sobbed
the last three words.

Jay-la sat down on the bed next to her and put her arms around the girl. “You‟re not
stupid, yes he should have told you, but l‟m sure he has his reasons, have you talked to
him at all about it? Let him explain it to you.”

She shook her head. I don‟t want to talk to him.”

“Yes you do, deep down Rae-Rae, you do. I‟ve been there myself once. It hurts like hell,
but still you want to talk to the man you love!”„ her own words were laced with pain, the
same pain she knew Rae-Rae was feeling right this minute. It was the same pain she had
felt herself when she had left the pack, at the order of the man she had loved.

“I‟ll never love anyone else again” Rae-Rae suddenly burst out.

Jay-la sighed that, unfortunately, was probably more true than Rae-Rae could ever
understand, she took a deep breath and did what was the right thing, for her human
sister, regardless of what Lauren and Tony would think of it.

She pushed Rae-Rae slightly away from her embrace and tilted her chin up to make her
look at her I love you Rae-Rae. So I am going to tell you something and I want you to
listen to me and understand me okay.”

At her nod, Jay-la continued “l grew up with the Browning‟s right there practically in
their house. Rae-Rae and Micheal is a good person. I have honestly never seen him do
anything bad in the whole time I knew him…He is very protective of his family, including
his brother, I would imagine. If Micheal told you he loved you. Then I do not doubt his
words, I believe he meant it. He is a kind and caring man and he will love you with
everything he has… l‟m not sure why he didn‟t tell you about his brother and my
history.”
“Past history. Which Micheal had nothing to do with, even his parents, Blaine and Darla,
were always nice to me, fair and decent people and I do believe they were also
genuinely going to welcome you into their family. They would also never hurt you. I can
assure you of this where they are concerned.”

She was quiet for many minutes thinking about everything Jay-la had said. “But his
brother is horrible” she sighed “How can I be in the same family? l‟d have to see him at
my wedding and would you come if he was there?”

“Yes you will have to see him…he‟ll be nice to you. It is me he has the problem with. Let
it be that way, Rae-Rae, do not let the animosity between his brother and I get between
you and Micheal… do not wish that, I want you to be happy.”

“But…”

Jay-la cut her off. “Do you know Micheal came to see me, in person… Begged me to
come and talk to you. He really does love you Rae-Rae, and it is killing him that you
have left him. Please call him, give him a chance. I saw with my own eyes how much he
loves you.”

It wasn‟t exactly the truth but Micheal had turned up at her place and demanded she go
to see Rae-Rae, it was a tiny white lie. What harm could it do if it fixes their goddess-
gifted Mate Bond.

“I don‟t know.”

“It‟s just one phone call, or maybe, a cup of coffee!” she could see that Rae-Rae was
actually thinking about it. It might take time but she would come around, Jay-la thought

“I‟Il let you think about it sweetie.” Jay-la got up and headed out of the room.

“Jay-la…”

She turned as she was about to step out and close the door.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” she asked timidly.

“Yes I do.” Jay-la answered with honesty. That‟s what the goddess gifted Mate Bond was,
love at first sight, the pairing of two perfectly matched souls, or at least it was supposed
to be, she knew not every bond worked out, mostly due to unfortunate circumstances,
but she would not let Rae-Rae or Micheal end like that.

“Call him. And eat something your mum is really worried” she said, and then left the
room.

She saw from the corner of her eye right before the door closed Rae-Rae reach for her
phone on the pillow next to her.

Hopeful she had said enough to help fix it, it was now up to Micheal to explain why he
lied to her. It was all in his hands now. She knew that Rae-Rae would want to go back to
him.

The Bond, would pull her towards him always. Just hearing his voice would be enough
for her to crave to be with him.

She stopped and sat on the staircase, took her phone out. There were half a dozen
missed calls from Jackson‟s number, all the voice messages were the same 1 just want to
know if you‟re okay, call me back‟ She sighed. They probably thought she had run away
with his pups, they were probably hunting her at this very minute.

She tapped the number to make the call. It connected after just one ring, tell Micheal
I‟m trying to help him. I never meant to hurt him or Rae-Rae,” and then she
disconnected the call. There was no room for any of them to try and talk to her, she was
tired and needed some space, she was also still a little mad that they had been able to
force her hand. Now they knew they could use that tactic on her. Are all her human
friends and family now in danger? She hoped not.

Jay-la had thought she was safe with him back home in his pack, but he was here and in
full breach of his court orders, but did it really surprise her? No, it did not. She knew he
would come at some point, so did Kora. It had all just been a matter of time, I guess that
time was up.

The other thing she had to do today was weighing on her too, she had to tell Tony and
Lauren about who Nathan really was and why he was so insistent, not looking forward
to that conversation, but it would have to be done otherwise they would continuously
send officers of the law after him where she and the children were concerned if he could
force her to go back before she got to Winter Moon Pack. That was looking likelier by
the minute due to him being here and all.

We can run tonight‟ Kora piped up.

Yes you can, Kora, run for as long as you want in the reserve out back.

The conversation with Rae-Rae, who had finally called Micheal, Tony and Lauren, took
place after the triplets went to bed. She sat them down and explained her past to them
and the reason he was now coming for her.

He had found out about the triplets and wanted them all to go back there so he could
be a part of their lives. She made mention of Sophia, called her his wife and why she had
never told him about the children, because she didn‟t want to hurt his marriage and
knew his wife disliked her and would hate the children. She had to altered a few things
to make it more human-sounding, but she put it as close to the truth as possible.

They were all quiet for a long time, just staring at her, then Tony asked her “Has he ever
actually laid a hand on you? Those wounds?”

Jay-la shook her head. “No…his right-hand man, Jackson; you would have seen him at
my office that day, had apparently instructed them to fetch me and no harm was to
come to me.., on the other hand wasn‟t having a bar of being kidnapped and fought
back against them, my injuries were all sustained by the men I was fighting.” she knew
Tony had read her statement it said as much.

“Of course, you would fight back honey.” Lauren sighed

What woman wouldn‟t?”

Rae-Rae was awfully quiet, her phone was in her hand and it dinged with the occasional
message. Jay-la could only imagine it was Micheal, she was back to smiling again and
she had come down for dinner. Eating finally.
Tony and Lauren weren‟t all that happy about Rae-Rae and Micheal talking again, but
they were happy to see her smile and eat something.

“What do you think about their family?” Tony asked. “

“Honestly, Jay-la.” She told him pretty much the same thing she had told Rae-Rae, just
leaving out the Micheal and Rae-Rae specific stuff. And finished with “They are a good
family. As for the prenup, you likely won‟t need it. They are very wealthy and if Rae-Rae
and Micheal do get married he will give her everything she wants, he won‟t care about
the cost. She will want for nothing, that much I do know.”

Rae-Rae smiled at her, there was actual joy in her eyes, she liked knowing that Jay-la
was not against the man she was in love with, boy was she in for a shock when he
explained to her the process of mating and marking and her transformation into a were-
wolf and her first shift.

He would not do that until she was in pack territory and so completely smitten and
committed that she wouldn‟t bolt. Jay-la didn‟t see Rae-Rae bolting. She did, however
foresee a phone call about whether she was a were-wolf herself.

“What are you going to do about Nathan himself?” Tony asked. She watched as they all
leaned forward for her answer.

She didn‟t know, and she had to be very careful what she said now that she knew Rae-
Rae and Micheal were talking again, anything she said could be relayed to him and he
would certainly tell his brother. She shrugged I don‟t know, but my actual grandmother
heard about what was going on and asked me to go visit her. So on Friday I will leave to
go and stay there, have a look around and might stay with her.

She has offered the triplets and l, to move in with her, and her boss is willing to give me
work in his Law Firm.”

“So you might move?” Lauren asked, shocked.

“What about Tim?” Rae-Rae asked. Typical.

Jay-la again shrugged Tim and I are good, but I don‟t think either of us are looking to
get married, so it‟ll just stop.”

“But you‟ve been with him for so long, aren‟t you in love with him?” Rae-Rae burst out.

“I like Tim, but love?… No, it‟s not love” It could never be he wasn‟t her fated mate, not
that she had ever met that person either. One day she hoped, too. It really would be
nice to have someone just love and cherish you for no other reason than they love your
very soul.

Chapter 25

Nathan POV

Just like that, she was gone. What else could he expect? After Micheal beat up both her
doorman and a security guard and then went storming up to her apartment and likely
kick in her door to get to her.

Nathan was completely furious, his mate was under enough stress, she did not need
another pissed-off alpha blooded wolf beating down or kicking in her door and
threatening her, not to mention his pups were in that apartment. The stupid bastard had
most likely scared them too.

The phone call he had received from his warriors watching her building to let him know
that Micheal had gone over there and let his anger loose on her doorman and security
guard had completely shocked him. He had thought Micheal would have more sense
than that. But it seems not.

They had all piled into the rental car Jackson and Stephen were using, Stephen driving
and they were headed to her apartment. He had called Micheal from his own phone,
knowing his brother wouldn‟t dare to ignore the call, making certain that Micheal knew,
Nathan knew exactly where he was and what he was doing.

Micheal knew that Nathan was there. Had he lost his mind completely, going off all
angry on the future Luna of their pack, if he hurt her physically, dared to lay a bloody
finger on her, Nathan would banish him without a second thought, regardless of his
parents‟ obvious objection that would come. Banishment would be better than death.

He had roared an alpha order down the damned phone at him, but without Havoc
present, he had no idea if the order would actually work on another alpha male. He
guessed that depended on just how much his little brother feared and or respected him.

Jackson was trying to call her, to get her to pick up, but she had not done so. No
surprise there. Going to her apartment was risky because of the human court orders
placed on him. He was in full breach of them but tough, his mate came first. Besides,
today might be the day. In less than 40 minutes he could be in her apartment with her,
she would know what he was to her. That part excited him.

He wanted to be in her apartment, smell her, hold her, k!ss her, meet his children and
hug them too. He wanted to be a family and this could be it.

Micheal had better not have screwed it up.

His men had reported to him that Micheal had left the building and was in a hurry.
Nathan was hoping it was due to his order and not because he had done something
stupid like hurt her. She had not been with him, so he had not taken her.

Nathan had to make sure she was alright, unharmed. They were about halfway to her
place when it was reported to him that she had left with the children in her car in a
hurry. None of his warriors had a car with them. They were working in shifts and the
team leaving took the car back to the hotel they were staying in.

Only a general direction could be given. As to where she was going, it was anyone‟s
guess.

He had ordered surveillance of Timothy Bolton‟s place and Eric

Stanton‟s place in case she went to one of them for help. He was betting on Eric
Stanton. After last night she wouldn‟t risk Timothy, to Havoc‟s rage, which she would
have heard loud and clear over the phone.
What she made of it he didn‟t know. He wondered if she would tell Eric he was there in
the city and have him tracked down and arrested for breaching his court order.

His men had called for paramedics for the two injured men in the lobby. From what they
could tell, they were both unconscious but still breathing.

The minute she had left with the children, to goddess only knew where. He had ordered
a change of location, heading instead for his parents‟ current residence. He knew that
was where Micheal was also staying, and Nathan was betting he had run back to their
parents for protection from him. Little did he know that was not going to help him right
now, nothing was. Micheal was about to get the beating of his life, wolf or no wolf,
Nathan was going to beat him senseless for his stupid actions.

Nathan had no idea where his Mate or offspring were. Jackson was still trying to contact
her, leaving voice messages for her to call back, but to no avail, she had probably turned
off her phone at some point to stop the incessant ringing.

After last night‟s phone call from Jackson, Jay-la, he thought was probably expecting
him to turn up at some point for his pups.

She believed that was all he wanted, she believed he hated her, and was now more
furious because she had kept his pups from him, which was not the case. He didn‟t
blame her, couldn‟t actually, he had been the one to send her away and she had not
known of their existence at that time. He wondered if she had thought it was him this
morning banging down on her door.

Now with what Micheal had done this morning, Rae-Rae would be lucky if she had a
Mate when he was finished with his little brother, Be damned if their Mate Bond was
fixed right away, their bond could wait.

They had barely known each other 2 bloody weeks, and she was only 18. They had
plenty of time to sort it out after he had sorted out his. The future Luna must always
come first.

Rae-Rae was not in any kind of danger, unlike his Mate and pups who were in danger
every bloody minute of everyday, that they were out there with other packs trying to
steal them from him.
Micheal should have bloody well known this, should have known better. He had been at
the restaurant when the sh!t had hit the fan and Kora had gone to fight their father and
break their mother. Her distress was obvious.

Yet the stupid i***t went and attacked his Mate. Nathan would not stand for it.

The car pulled up outside and he was out of the car and stalking toward the serviced
apartments his parents were living in and had rented for a month, expecting it to be
difficult to get Rae-Rae‟s family to agree to her moving in with them and half way across
the country away from her family, pull her from her university degree and let her get
married to a total stranger.

He was pounding on the door furiously, he could just kick it in, but he wanted to in-still
fear into his little brother. He was probably doing the exact same thing Micheal had
done to Jay-la‟s door, he realised. The door opened and his father stood right there.
“Calm down son.”

“Where is that son of a b!tch?” he roared, his anger boiling over now that he was here.
He let it all out, he didn‟t need Havoc to kick his little brother‟s ass from here to the
moon goddess and back. He spotted him across the room and was off and running at
full speed, shoving past his father, not caring if the man was knocked to the ground or
not.

His hands were around Micheal‟s neck the minute he was close enough to grab onto
him, and he was squeezing the life out of him. “I‟ll fu*cking kill you, do you know what
you did? She‟s gone you bastard.” he was screaming in Micheal‟s face. He saw Paxton
push forward in order to defend his human counterpart.

Nathan didn‟t wait for him to start fighting back, slammed his knee up into his brother‟s
rib cage as hard as he could, knocking the wind out of him and his wolf. He was a good
foot taller than Micheal and had an advantage, Micheal had not had to receive all the
training Nathan had had too, he was a much better fighter and knew how to bring
Micheal and Paxton down.

He repeatedly kneed the bastard in the abdomen without letting up, while his hands
were still wrapped tightly around his throat, the boy would suffer.
He could feel several sets of hands on him, trying to pull him away and pry his hands
from Micheal‟s throat. He could hear both his mother and father yelling at him, trying to
order him to stop it using all their Luna and Alpha powers against him, to make him let
go.

But he was not going to do so willingly, and if he had learnt anything from Havoc over
the years, it was that, blinded by rage, nothing filtered through, not even an alpha‟s
order.

He was filthy with blinding rage, he was being forcibly removed from his brother by his
own men and his father. All of them had a hold of him trying to pry his fingers from
Micheal‟s throat. The boy was on the verge of passing out for lack of oxygen.

The minute his hands were pried loose, Micheal took a deep breath. Nathan was being
dragged backwards but could still reach him, snapped his foot out and kicked him as
hard as he could as he was being shoved backwards. Micheal went stumbling backwards
hitting the wall behind him.

Nathan registered the fear in him, but he could only imagine Jay-la‟s fear of him beating
down her door, and his pups?

How had they reacted? He lurched forward using all his strength and got another kick
into his brother. The third kick was halted by his mother‟s body stepping in front of him.
“Son, you need to calm down right now.”

“Fu*cking kill him if she runs and gets away” he roared at her.

“I understand. Please, honey, calm down.”

His blue eyes met her blue ones, “Don‟t use that sh*t on me, I‟m the alpha now,” he
yelled at her, turning his anger towards her.

She blinked in surprise, he had never really yelled at his mother before, always showed
her respect, but right now his Mate was gone and no-one knew where too, and she was
protecting the one responsible.
His body was finally pinned down on the floor. He could feel it was his father and Storm
who were doing most of the assisting now, forcing him down and using all of Storm‟s
strength to keep him down.

Yes, Jackson, Stephen and Ethan were all helping, but not with wolves out, they knew
Havoc was not with him and were simply trying to contain him, for the second time in
less than 24 hours.

His eyes were burning into Micheal, his brother was looking completely guilty and so he
should be, after what he had done.

He heard Jackson‟s phone ring “get it‟ he yelled at him, in-case it was her, only she
mattered now.

He heard her voice. It was soft and gentle, apologetic “Tell Micheall am trying to help
him, I never meant to hurt him or Rae-Rae” Then the line was gone.

His eyes moved back to Micheal. “Are you happy now?” he grated out to his brother,
“get the f**k off of me” he snapped at his father, Storm, Ethan and Stephen, all of whom
were still holding him down on the ground. His father‟s knee with Storms‟s strength was
pushing into the middle of his back between his shoulder blades.

“Are you going to stay off your brother?” his father asked him.

“Just get off me” he snapped, and was pushing up off the ground with all the force and
strength he had, if Havoc was present, they‟d all be injured right now.

They did all get off him. His father was the last to leave, his mother was standing directly
in front of Micheal blocking his way to get to him again. You had better not have
screwed this up. Or I will make you suffer the same fate” he snarled at him.

He heard several horrified gasps in the room, for he had just implied if he lost his mate
he would make sure so did Micheal.

Micheal‟s eyes were wide with fear, he knew it was not a threat to be taken lightly.
Havoc would kill him when he came back and found out what had happened and right
for that minute Nathan wouldn‟t do anything to stop him.
Havoc would have his blood lust sated by his own kin‟s blood.

“I‟m sorry, l just wanted to get Rae-Rae back” he apologised. “I wasn‟t thinking.”

“No, you didn‟t. How would you like it if I marched over there and threatened your
Mate?” he snarled at his brother.

“I‟m sorry, I couldn‟t help it, I didn‟t know what else to do. There was no one else who
could get to Rae-Rae” he pleaded his case.

“I don‟t care you ass-hole. If you make her worse, you will suffer an eternity of pain and
I‟ll give you to Havoc” He was completely out of control and he knew it, but he just
couldn‟t calm down, his rage was unchecked and uncontrollable. His alpha blood was
boiling in his veins. He wondered if this was how Havoc felt when in a rage.

Well, if it was, he now understood his beast a bit better.

The urge to destroy and kill everything was burning inside of him. He kicked the coffee
table next to him and it went flying across the room and smashed into the wall near his
mother and brother, shattered wood and glass exploding all around them. His anger
was not subsiding, it was still building to an unknown proportion.

The sudden sting in his arm turned his head and he stared at it. A syringe was in-
bedded all the way in, he saw liquid being pushed into him and barely had time to
register what it was as the liquid burned into him. His eyes moved to his father‟s and he
saw they had this apologetic look in them before everything was going dark and fuzzy
around the edges and he felt himself start to fall down that bastard had shot him up
with a wolfs-bane: Unconsciousness claimed him.

Chapter 26

Jay-ya PoV
That night, after everyone retired to bed and she could hear them sleeping soundly with
her wolf hearing, she slipped out of the back door and made her way to the back of the
property.

Using Kora‟s wolf strength and agility, she jumped up and grabbed the top of the 10foot
wall and hauled herself over it to the other side, dropping into the natural reserve of
bush-land behind their home.

It was not a large reserve, about 5 acres by 7 acres, but it was enough for Kora to shift
into her wolf form and run free.

Jay-la stripped off her clothes, she could already feel Kora‟s excitement building within
her, felt the first c0ck and snap of her bones and allowed Kora to take full control and
run around the reseve at will. She chased a few small animals for fun but was not
particularly interested in killing any of them, just enjoyed the hunting game she played
with them.

For hours, Kora walked, prowled, stalked, pounced and ran about feeling totally free for
the first time in months. She marked up a few trees with her claws and when the moon
appeared from behind the clouds, she howled up at it, a mighty howl. Nothing
answered her, no other wolves around, in other words, thankfully.

Then she just lay there in wolf form under the moonlight and listened to the noises of
the night, the small critters that lived in the reserve as they moved about. Jay-la did not
bother her, allowed her to do as she pleased. Kora had grown bigger over the last 6
years. Jay-la noted how her paw prints were nearly twice the size as they used to be
when in the pack.

She had once been a small silver wolf, but was now a large silver wolf, would probably
be the same size as Stephen‟s wolf, Rafe, she thought absently.

Being small had made for better hiding from them all, but being bigger meant being
even stronger and faster, that she would be able to put up a much better fight when
and if it came down to it. It would be nice to go on a pack run with other wolves in the
Winter Moon Pack. Jay-la was willing to bet Kora would out run every wolf there, but the
Alpha probably. She was going to let Kora try it and display all her speed. She knew Kora
was impressive.
It was an hour till sun up before Kora relinquished control to Jay-la and they dressed
and climbed back over the wall and went back into the house. She was due to be in
court today, but realised she hadn‟t brought any clothes with her that would suit court.

She wondered if Lauren or Rae-Rae had anything suitable that would fit her, or if she
would have to risk going back to her apartment, which she didn‟t really want to.

To be honest, she didn‟t even want to attend court today, she‟d had a very long
weekend and just didn‟t feel up to it.

Perhaps a sick-day, another lawyer could step in or they could postpone court to
another time. She would call Jordan and tell him she was unwell, take a few days off.

She was sitting in Lauren‟s kitchen drinking a cup of coffee with some hot toast next to
her when her phone rang. It was only 6 am. She couldn‟t imagine who would be calling
her at this hour, the people who would, were right here in this house.

Probably Jackson again. Though how he had gotten her number she didn‟t know.

She checked the number and frowned at it deeply. If she was recalling correctly, that
was her parents‟ home pack number. There was no way they had her unlisted number.
Only Jackson did, well now the whole unit probably. For her parents to get this number
they must have called her parents and given it to them. What were they up to?

She answered a little wearily “Hello?”

“Jay-la, its Brad, how are you little sister?”

Jay-la felt hot tears prick her eyes at the sound of her big brother‟s voice, “hi,” was all
she could manage to get out, worried she would suddenly burst into tears with both joy
and sorrow.

“I need you to come home, Jay-la. Its mum, she‟s really badly injured, and might not
make it. ls asking for you.”

Jay-la frowned at this, his tone did not show any signs of distress or emotional grief, he
didn‟t sound upset at all. “I don‟t believe you,” she decided to state, because if, their
mum was nearly dying, surely he would be so distressed it would be heard in his voice.
Kora agreed, she didn‟t sense any pain, sadness, distress or anything to make her feel
this was the truth.

“What?” he exclaimed, appearing shocked by her statement. ” Why would I lie to you?”
he sounded a little annoyed.

“Brad, if mum was injured as you say, you would be very upset. This is a trick by the
Alpha to get me to come home. I know this because there is no way you could have
gotten my number without one of the Alpha‟s units giving it to you, likely Jackson.”

“Look Jay-la, he is not even here in the pack, all of them are over there with you. There
was a rogue attack early this morning and many of us have been injured. Mum was one
of them.”

“I don‟t believe you. I‟m sorry Brad, it was really nice to talk to you, but I only hear lies.”

“I‟m sorry you don‟t believe me,” he sighed, but even that sounded false to her ears.

She got off the phone and sent Jackson a quick text message, “Nice try. But Brad can‟t
lie for sh!t. Like I would believe that story.”

“Whet are you talking about?” he replied.

Jay-la sighed and shook her head, like she would believe that be wasn‟t in on it. He was
the one who always called her, had her new number even though it was unlisted as far
as she could recall.

It was just over an hour later when Jay-la started to feel uncomfortable, that her chest
was suddenly tight and irritating her, and no matter how much she rubbed it, the aching
wouldn‟t go away.

„Kora?‟

„I don‟t know, it‟s odd!‟ was all she replied, but Kora was pacing around in Jay-la‟s mind,
also uncomfortable and unable to sit still.
„Something is wrong, but I don‟t know what.‟ Jay-la was pacing around in the kitchen
with her children at the table having breakfast, watching her with curious eyes. They
seemed a little worried by her sudden restlessness. She was not just rubbing her chest
now but pressing on it. The pain was intensifying to the point that she was getting really
worried, it was starting to actually hurt and cause her pain.

Lauren walked into the kitchen and looked at her. Instant concern replaced her morning
smile, “What‟s wrong?” she asked, the Doctor in her springing to life wanting to help
her.

“I don‟t know, my chest aches all of a sudden, starting to actually further phóne was
ringing on the counter next to her, she was trying to breathe through the pain, „maybe
I‟m having a heart attack‟. She thought „rubbish wolves are tough, and if you were I
would know. Something else,‟ Kora snorted at her.

She checked the caller ID on the incoming call, the same number. Jackson. She shook
her head, just because the man had somehow managed to get her new number, he
thought he could use it at will to bother her. She sighed and dismissed it, not going to
pick up, she had more concerning issues right now.

A few minutes later, a text came through, Lauren had disappeared and was now back
with her medical bag, trying to get Jay-la to sit still so she could get a blood pressure
reading and get a heart rate, how ever Jay-la could not sit down, she needed to be up
on her feet, to pace around. Could not sit still for the love of the goddess.

Another text came through. She picked up her phone and opened it, the first text “Jay-la
pick up quickly, Jackson.”

The second text is “Jay-la, pick up, your mother is hurt, possibly dying. PICK UP”

Shaking her head again, she ignored it, they really were becoming bothersome and
doing everything to get her to go back, using every trick they could think of.

“I don‟t know..” Kora whined at her. She was lying on the ground seemingly in pain now
too. Whatever was wrong with her was getting worse, escalating and not going away.
Even physically affecting Kora now.
Lauren was not happy that Jay-la wouldn‟t sit still and was trailing her with a hand on
her wrist, trying to get her heart rate.

“Damn it Jay-la.” the next text came through, then she received a video message. She
sighed, fine. Whatever it was he really wasn‟t going to give up on, she clicked the play
button and, to her utter horror, it was footage of her mother Vera lying in a hospital
bed, covered in bloodied wound dressings.

Her father, Jody, was sitting next to the bed holding her hand, his head bowed low in
sadness.

Jay-la‟s chest pain suddenly increased 100 fold and pain ripped through her entire body
and a scream of distress and agony peeled from her like nothing she had ever felt
before.

Kora was howling in pain, curled up in her mind, unable to bare the pain either. The
phone clattered from her hand to the floor of the kitchen, she vaguely heard all her
babies start yelling and crying from the table.

She was unable to do anything for them, as she staggered about the kitchen trying to
cope with the sheer volume of pain coursing through her body. She had never in her life
felt anything like this pain before, not even the pain of childbirth compared. She fell
down on to her knees, tears were streaming down her face as she clutched at her chest.

Lauren as yelling at her, asking her if she was okay, she was yelling for her husband and
Rae-Rae to get in here quick, to assist her.

The ache Jay-la and Kora had been feeling this morning, was her mother‟s pain, and the
tearing of the bond they shared.

It was breaking as she was dying from her injuries, how could this happen when her
father was the most highest ranked warrior, why hadn‟t he gone to her aid.

The sobs wracked through her entire body, she stared down at the phone on the floor,
the image now frozen on her mother‟s wounded body. Her hands were shaking
uncontrollably. There was nothing she could do, she was too far away.
Her sobs turned into howls of pain, she was really losing her mother and she was too far
away to get to her, to say goodbye.. She had never even known about her
grandchildren, never even seen them, never once gotten to smile at them, play with
them, hug them. Pain was burning now worse than before, guilt on top of pain, on top
of her sorrow it was starting to eat her alive. What had she done…

She saw Lauren touch her phone on the floor and lashed out at her in her grief, she
didn‟t want to loose the sight of her mother, couldn‟t drag her eyes away from the
image of her bloodied and wounded body, of her father so full of sadness and
devastation. But she also didn‟t want to look at it either, just staring at it was rapidly
increasing her pain and distress about not being able to go to her mother.

Why hadn‟t she believed Brad, when he called, why had she called him a liar and
dismissed him? Maybe he was just numb from his pain at losing their mother. She was a
terrible daughter, all the things she had done, getting banished, hiding her pregnancy
and keeping the triplets a secret, it would have taken just one phone call.

Surely her parents would have kept her secret, but she had to be a horrible daughter
and stay away, hide everything. Guilt was washing through her, causing her pain to
increase with every minute she sat there on the floor crying her eyes out, unable to cope
with all that was going on around her.

She heard her phone ringing, stared at the number through her tears, reached out her
shaking hand and could not for the life of her touch the answer button. She could not
focus on it, her vision blurred by tears so much she could now barely see straight. She
just couldn‟t do it, couldn‟t focus on anything other than the utter devastation of her
grief, the pain coursing in waves through her body rendering her barely able to move. It
was all becoming too much.

“Hello?” she heard Lauren‟s voice. She had answered it for Jay-la.

Jay-la didn‟t care at this moment, in too much pain, her arms had wrapped themselves
around her body, her howling only getting worse. She was losing it, losing control of
everything, unable to find her way through the pain and guilt alike.
The phone was pressed to her ear at some point and Jackson‟s voice came down the
line, there was worry and concern lacing every word, “Jay-la. Where are you? You can
still get there, I‟ll come and get you.” he told her.

“It… it‟s too late,” she sobbed, her words stuttered out of her, she was completely
broken by the thought of her mother dying, tears were pouring out of her in rivers that
washed down her face and dripped onto the floor in front of her, her shaking was
increasing and she could hear her teeth clicking against each other, it was all to much
for her to bare, she wanted to be strong but suddenly felt so weak and useless.

“It‟s not too late Jay-la, I‟ll come for you, honey. Let me.

Where are you?” Jackson‟s voice was calm and soft but she didn‟t care, she could feel it
was too late, knew it deep down inside.

She fell all the way to the floor, gasping for breath, hyperventilating as she curled up
into as tiny a ball as she could, trying to contain her pain. She had never felt this kind of
pain before. She vaguely heard him yell an order down the line. It didn‟t affect her, she
was too far gone to be listening to anyone at that point.

Jay-la had no idea of the time passing as she lay there on the floor curled into a ball,
sobbing constantly, unable to explain herself or her condition to anyone. Her pain and
guilt was all she knew not why, Why did she have to move so far away? Why was her life
so hard?

There were gentle hands on her, one touching her arm, the other on her face. Jay-la
opened her eyes, still blurred with tears, and looked up. Her eyes met with pale grey
eyes filled with worry, her l!ps trembled and she howled out his name „Jackson.‟ and
reached out for him. She desperately needed his strong arms around her and to take
comfort from her childhood friend in her time of grief.

Jackson scooped her up and hugged her to his body tightly, snapped at someone to get
her children. He was already carrying her off somewhere. Jay-la closed her eyes and
sobbed into his neck as she hugged him weakly back, not caring about where he was
taking her.
He did not stop for anyone, not even Tony, who was demanding answers from him.
Yelling about calling the police.

She heard Jackson tell him to go ahead as he strode out of the house with her in his
arms.

He climbed into a waiting car with her still in his arms, sobbing into his neck. He was
shushing her gently trying to make her calm down, telling her it was all going to be
okay, that they would make it back to the pack in time, Jay-la knew better, her pain was
too great, it could only mean the bond was nearly severed, they were just too far away.

“I‟ve got the packs private plane Jay-la, we‟ll make it honey, we will,” he was trying to
reassure her.

She just kept shaking her head. How could she believe him.

She knew the pack was at least 5 hours away by plane, as it was across the other side of
the country, and then they had to drive from the airport to the pack, though that
wouldn‟t take long.

They owned a private air strip 30 min from the pack. But still it was too long, they were
too far away. Jay-la was carried by Jackson out of the car and onto the pack plane. She
had no idea how long it took, sobbed the whole way there, she was sat down on a seat,
and found herself surrounded by her children, their green eyes all staring up at her, they
were all red-rimmed and looked so very sad. The twins had trembling l!ps, when they
looked up at her, her being so upset was upsetting them too, she just couldn‟t seem to
help it.

As she stared down at their sad faces, grief hit her anew as she realised not only did her
mother not know them, but they had no knowledge of their own grandmother either,
they would never get to know their grandmother. Who would have loved them with her
whole heart, spoiled them absolutely rotten and encouraged their mischievousness as
she had with Jay-la.

All of her fun-loving, pranking nature had come from her mother, who had loved to
tease and rile up her Mate until he was chasing her around the house or out of the
house in a fun game of catch me if you can.
More tears spilled down her face, “I‟m so sorry.” she told them and bowed her head in
sadness, unable to look at them.

She had hurt them and didn‟t even realise it till right this minute.

Jay-la felt a hand slide down her back, soft and gentle, knew it was Stephen by the
affect, a calming sensation was falling over her, he was using his Gamma Charm to try
and stop her distress and she was now actually thankful for him and his Gamma Charm.

She lifted her tear-filled eyes to meet his caramel brown ones, he was looking directly at
her, sadness filled his eyes, matching her own, “Jay-la..honey, just breath,” he whispered
with that southern drawl that came with his use of his ability.

Jay-la actually opened herself to him completely, accepting his Gamma Charm and
allowing his calming aura to fall over her, because she really did need to calm down and
she honestly couldn‟t find a way to do it herself. She had seen her babies‟ sadness and
worry as well, but not even that had broken through to help her ease her distress. She
didn‟t understand why she was like that, normally she was so very strong. She needed to
calm down for them as much as for herself.

Her children had been removed along with her from Tony and Lauren‟s house by a
bunch of strangers. They had no idea what was going on, or who these men were, or
where they were being taken or why their own mother couldn‟t stop crying She could
only imagine their inner emotional turmoil at the events taking place.

Jay-la suddenly found herself tired, exhausted actualy and felt herself lean towards
Stephen. He slid his arms around her completely and pulled her to him, resting her head
on his chest and lulled her grief and pain-riddled body into sleep with softly whispered
words of comfort.

She vaguely recalled being moved about, being carried everywhere. She did not, it
appeared, to have the strength to get up at all and walk on her own. She sat down on a
chair and heard a familiar voice “Jay-la, baby girl”. Her eyes moved to the sound of the
deep but soft barrow tones of her father‟s voice, and there he was standing right in front
of her.
Tears washed down her face, she was finally home, she stood slowly and reached out to
him, it had been 6 long years since she‟d felt the comfort of being in his arms. He pulled
her into his big barrel chest just like he had always done when she was a child and a
teenage girl when she had been upset over various things and hugged her tightly, just
stood there and held onto her. His chin rested on the top of her head.

“mum?” she sobbed.

“Alive, the doctor says the worst is over.” his voice was still soft and carried an optimistic
tone.

“She‟s going to make it?” more sobbing

“Yes, yes she is baby girl.” he nodded, “look, she‟s right here.”

Jay-la turned her head and looked at her mother lying in the hospital Bed. She could see
the wounds still weren‟t healing “Ivy?” she asked about her mother‟s wolf.

“WoIfs-bane in her system, baby girl, it will eventually leave and she will wake up soon.
But not likely till tomorrow. She was hit with a wolfs-bane loaded arrow, almost a lethal
dose, but she hung on, calling your name before passing out.”

Jay-la sobbed again and moved out of his arms to go and sit by her mother‟s side, took
her hand and held it in hers, her forehead bowed down to rest on the back of her
mother‟s hand, in the hope that somewhere in there, she would be able to sense her
daughter who she‟d call for was here just like she wanted.

Though Jay-la knew better, having been on the other end of wolfs-bane herself, it
somehow brought her comfort to hold her mother‟s hand and just be with her.

She had wanted to be with her mother just days ago and now here she was, under
horrible circumstances, but here non-the-less. Jay-la felt a hand on her shoulder. “Jay-la,
the triplets are very tired. I‟ll take them to the pack house for rest for a while okay.”

“no‟ she looked up at Jackson and shook her head, she turned to look at her father, “let
my father take care of them, I trust him.”
“Alright,” Jackson stated calmly, he didn‟t even argue.

Jay-la knew if he took them to the pack house they would end up in the Alpha suite and
getting them out of there would be an issue, she might not be able to see them for a
long time.

She sat there for hours just staring at her mother‟s unconscious body. Kora occasionally
whimpered or whined in her own pain. At some point she found herself falling asleep in
the chair, felt she was lifted out of it and being carried again.

She just leaned into Jackson‟s strong comforting embrace, she knew it was him, could
smell him. Felt herself being laid down on a bed and tucked in “my babies”

“Safe with your father as you wished, I promise.”

She reached out and clutched at his shirt just near his rib-cage, not wanting him to go,
he settled on the bed next to her „I don‟t think it was rogues, familiar scent on Vera‟
Kora huffed at her as she prowled around in her mind while Jay-la drifted off to sleep
again. Her emotional state was really taking a toll on her body.

Chapter 27
Nathan POV

He woke up in a bed, his mother sitting on a chair next to it, she looked very tired, just
like his father had on Saturday morning after everything that had happened at the
restaurant.

Looked like she had not gotten any sleep at all “What time is it?” he muttered, recalling
his father had dosed him up with wolfs-bane.

She just stared at him for a minute and he thought he hadn‟t actually asked his question
out loud, then she seemed to straighten up in her chair.” Son, I need you to remain
calm.”

“Why? What did you do while I was poisoned? by my own father!” he grated.
“It was necessary, you were as blinded by your own rage, just like Havoc gets.”

“What do you expect? We are one and the same, and my Mate was threatened by my
brother, when she was already in severe distress.” He sat up on the bed and looked
around himself, still in their serviced apartment, he guessed.

“Rae-Rae called Micheal and we‟re all going out to talk with her family very shortly. You
will be going with us.”

“Why?”

“Because Tony thinks you took Jay-la again.” That got his undivided attention. “Why?”
he asked. He had hot gone near her, in fact. He‟d had all his warriors back off to a safer
distance to give her some breathing room, in the hope that she would calm down, and
then she had disappeared, arg she was missing, the bloody human FEDs were going to
be all over him yet again.

“Because Jackson, Stephen and Ethan found out where she was and went and got her
and the triplets and took them back to the pack this morning, the plane left about 8am.
Son, you have been out for well over 24 hours now.”

“What how is that possible?”

“Havoc is not with you is he?” she asked, leaning forward to peer at him intently. “your
father dosed you with enough wolfs-bane to put you and Havoc down, but seeing as
he‟s not with you… you were out longer than expected.”

“No, he‟s disappeared. What happened? Why‟d they take her back to the pack and not
bring her directly to me?”

Something else had to be going on here, they would all know better.

“Her mother was violently attacked by a rogue and is in the pack hospital, nearly died.
Jay-la did not handle it well.”

Nathan was out of bed in a split second. “l have to go to her.

“No, I need you to go and talk with Tony and Lauren, reassure them that Jay-la and the
triplets will come to no harm.”

“Why, I don‟t care what they think.”

She sighed heavily, clearly exasperated with him. “Tony, Lauren and Rae-Rae are her
human family, it seems they took her in just after the triplets were born. They are
currently willing to give Micheal another chance, but Tony and Lauren want a word with
you in person, and seeing as you‟re right here, and can‟t get back to the pack until your
plane returns for you. You son, have the time.”

His mouth twitched: “My plane. Yours, l am willing to bet, is still here, I will use it.” He
was no fool, they had come on their own private plane, and if his was no longer here he
would simply, com-endear it for himself. No pack member would dare refuse his order.

He watched his mother stand up. “You can go to your Mate after you talk with her new
family, til then I will not allow my plane to leave the ground. So you might as well just
do it.”

He was staring at her, he honestly didn‟t care about her human family, he only cared
about her. She must be terribly upset. “Is her mother okay?” he finally asked.

“Yes, will be just fine from what I have heard. The triplets are with Jody and she has been
placed in the Luna Suite for rest.

“They‟ve been separated?” He didn‟t like it, this would only increase more fear and
distress.

“Not my decision, perhaps just temporary. Do this one thing for me please son.”

“Fine, let‟s make it quick. I want my Mate and she clearly needs me.”

“l understand, I‟ll have my plane on standby and ready to leave at a minutes minute‟s
notice.”

“It had better be,” he muttered, looking for his phone to call Jackson and find out just
what the hell happened while he was drugged and unconscious. They should have come
and got his body regardless of his unconscious state, just his presence would have
helped her. Once she smelled him.

“You‟re up, boss.”

“Jay-la?” he bit out her name, showing his displeasure at his Beta for the actions they
had taken without his permission.

“Upset as expected. You might want to get back here. I actually just found out what
happened.”

“What do you mean?” he just knew he wasn‟t going to like what he was about to hear,
“mother said rogue attack.”

“It seems Abbey took matters into her own hands when she heard you attacked Micheal
over your mate.”

“And” he suddenly had a very bad feeling and his mind was weighted all of a sudden, he
could feel Havoc‟s alpha presence returning.

“Apparently, Abbey convinced Jay-la‟s family to stage that her mother was attacked and
injured, but Bradley is not good at acting, and Jay-la didn‟t believe him..”

“And,” he really hated when his men didn‟t want to tell him things and paused out of
hesitation, irked him to no end. It‟s not like Havoc could suddenly rip him a new one. He
was on the other side of the country in the pack. Though he could now feel Havoc
prowling towards the front of his mind.

“Well.. you know Abbey.. took it a step further, a step too far…convinced Jay-la‟s mother
and father to actually allow Vera to be seriously injured…she used your mate bond to
their daughter to convince them.. they went along with it once convinced, because they
want their daughter back home. Vera took a near-lethal dose of wolfs-bane, and..”

“Just spit it out Jackson or Ill reach through this phone,1 swear it.” he bit out, his anger
starting to boil with all that he was hearing, and the bloody hesitation and pausing.
“Abbey ripped into Vera, to make it look like she was brutally attacked by a rogue. I
didn‟t know anything about it, boss. I would never have approved it in your absence.
From what I understand, she heard what happened and took matters into her own
hands. Trying to help in her own stupid way.”

From one nightmare to another, could his Mate ever, catch a break from his family
members, she was not going to take this well, probably think he had set it all up, maybe
even think he had harmed her mother on purpose to force her home.

“Have you beaten her yet?”

“No boss, thought you might want that job, though I think you won‟t… she is pregnant.”

“She‟ll keep,” he muttered. “I “ll be there as soon as I can.

Apparently, I have to go and talk with Tony and Lauren and mother is insisting.”

“That may be my fault, kind of went all Beta on Lauren over the phone and took Jay-la
and the triplets with Stephen and Ethan‟s help..they were nonplussed about it. Oh a
heads up, they know the triplets are yours. She must have told them.”

“I don‟t care. Jackson just make sure Jay-la is taken care of and give her back her
children.”

“She was just so distressed, boss, they weren‟t coping, her pain, guilt and distress were
affecting them. They too are just as emotionally wrung out. I sent them with Ethan to
Jody‟s house. Stephen explained to them who he was, they seemed to just accept it and
go with their grandfather,” he sighed heavily.

“Jay-la passed out at her mother‟s bedside about 30 minutes ago. I have brought her to
the Luna suite. Stephen thought it wise to separate them for the time being, allowing
the pups to stabilise emotionally, so to speak.”

“Its going to be a very long day.. l can trust you with her, right?”

“Yes boss… why would you ask that?” there was a clear frown in his voice.
“No reason…” Nathan muttered, but there was that nagging feeling in him “You‟re with
her, right?”

“Yes,” his voice now laced with concern, “l‟m not stupid.

Nathan, I would never betray you. You know that, right?”

“I know that. I just get this weird feeling about you and her sometimes.”

“She is not my Mate.” he heard his Beta state firmly, honestly to try and clear things up,
“just was one of my closest friends is all.”

“Alright”, he rubbed his hands over his face.

“Jackson?”

“Yes boss”

“Don‟t make her feel like a prisoner or that she is trapped there, allow her freedom to
wander at will… Kora too.” The last words came from his beast and then he hung up.

His mother was staring at him with a deep frown on her face. “We had no idea, son, and
also would not have approved of something like that, especially with her fragile state,”
she said right away, clearly having listened, with her wolf‟s hearing, to his conversation.

“You deal with your daughter, or I will and it will not be pretty, I assure you,” he
muttered, though he knew he could not hurt Abbey, or even lock her in a cell for
punishment if she was pregrnant.

But there were other methods of punishment he could deal out that would hurt her
without physically touching her, he would have to consider teaching her a lesson. She
had always been a handful but she had taken things way too far this time.

Abbey was going to learn her place, and if his mother didn‟t do it he would.

Why did you go Havoc?‟ he asked his wolf now that he had returned. He had yet to
figure out why his wolf came and wentnlike he did.
„Didn‟t want to hurt our Mate.‟

„Buddy…i know you would never hurt Jay-la‟

„I might have…I hurt Sophia‟

Jay-la is nothing like our last Mate. She doesn‟t know we‟re her Mate that is all. She will
never betray us once she knows. Jay-la believes wholeheartedly in the goddess gifted
Fated Mate. Once she recognises us, everything will be fine. I promise.

„Hurts.‟

„I know buddy, but we will go and see her this very afternoon. We will fix it all today‟ he
told Havoc, knowing that finally they would be face to face and she would be able to
recognise them as her Mate. It was a relief, that was for sure. A weight off both of their
minds.

“Let‟s go mother, I need to get back to the pack.”

“Micheal is already out there. I thought it would be better to keep you two apart for
now.”

“Wise,” he agreed.

„Why?‟ Havoc asked.

„never mind, I have punished him already‟

He heard Havoc huff. He didn‟t like being kept in the dark, but it was for the best.
Leaving him out of it was a good idea at this point. Once everything was fixed between
him and Jay-la, it wouldn‟t matter anymore.

You should shower and change, shave maybe, be presentable for this family.”

“Why?”
“From what I‟ve heard, Tony is like a dad to Jay-la, Rae-Rae a sister. So go and clean up.
I‟ve already dealt with the hotel and had your things brought here..what happened over
there?”

“Nothing,” he muttered, and headed for a shower.

Chapter 28
He was sitting in what could only be a sitting room, in a large white brick mansion in a
gated community, about 40 minutes outside the city. He had noted the coded gate and
the 10-foot high brick fencing around the property, the security camera‟s at the gate
and along the driveway covering the front door.

He was willing to bet this was where she was when he couldn‟t track her down after she
had run from his pack.

They had been met at the front door, both Tony and Lauren waiting for him. He had not
smiled at them and neither of them had smiled at him. A basic greeting and
introduction had been given by his father.

And they had all pretty much just nodded at each other.

He had been led inside.

The place exuded wealth, there was white marble everywhere, with floor-to-ceiling
columns off to the side of the entry way, a wrought iron railing with a redwood handrail
going up the curved stair case to the second floor, with matching stairs, a deep red
carpet runner that was held in place with small thin golden rods at each tread.

It was more luxurious than even his pack house. His pack members wanted for nothing
and the ground floor was all for them, a massive home theatre, games room with
entertainment tailored to their needs, multiple gaming consoles and TVs, table tennis,
pinball machines, pool tables, air hockey, everything they wanted, they just had to ask.

There was a gym, an indoor heated swimming pool, spa‟s and a sauna. The library that
hosted multiple sitting areas‟s where all the teenagers liked to hang out with each other
and listen to music or just sit and chat. He could only imagine this house had many of
the same things within its walls, it was extremely large and though it was just Tony,
Lauren and Rae-Rae, it was clear they did not want for anything.

His mother and father were sitting next to him on the very plush couch, and both Tony
and Lauren were sitting opposite him, an antique coffee table between them. Micheal
and Rae-Rae were standing across the other side of the room. Micheal had had the
sense to step well away from him the minute he had walked into the room.

Nathan had locked eyes with him and Havoc had looked out from his eyes right at him
as well. His wolf may not yet understand, why Nathan was angry with his little brother,
but he was letting himself be known to Micheal, that he was back and the boy had
better bow down and do as he was told by his Alpha.

Micheal had clutched at Rae-Rae‟s hand and pulled her away to the other end of the
room. She had looked more than confused, but had gone with him. Nathan guessed this
family unit did not know what Micheal had done to Jay-la with her triples just meters
away.

He supposed that would not go down so well and would hinder the Mate Bond proces,
so his parents and Micheal had probably not told them.

Tony and Lauren had watched the interaction between the two brothers with interest.
He did not know what to expect from this visit, all he knew was that Jay-la had been
here and taken away by Jackson and his unit at roughly 8am this morning. It was already
3pm.

He had been unconscious until almost 2pm out cold for a day and a half, annoyed him
to no end, but he finally did feel well rested for the first time in weeks.

Seeing as he had barely been sleeping since Jay-la had run away from him, defying him
at every turn. „we‟ll su**ck her good; Havoc chortled, happy knowing that they would be
with their mate tonight.

It would be late at night, after midnight likely, but still his mate and pups were there.
They were finally going to be able to sort out everything that had happened between
them, which had lead to this goddess awful situation. Hopefully, she wouldn‟t blame him
for the current situation she found herself in at the pack.
He had taken his mother‟s advice, showered, shaved and styled his hair, pulled on a
black suit, but removed the jacket he didn‟t want to appear too formal. He was wearing
a light grey dress shirt, left the top button undone, he had decided in the shower he
would at least try to placate this family, seeing as these were the people who had taken
in Jay-la and helped her with the triplets because he had not been around to do so, he
had also recalled how Jackson had report her reaction to the man when he had gone to
her office.

Jay-la appeared to really love these people, which meant he was going to have to get
along with them, so he had to be polite and give them what they wanted, well to a
degree anyhow.

He would show respect to them. He sat across from them, there was still no smile on his
face, as he wanted to appear neutral at this point.

“Where is Jay-la? I recognised your men. They were the ones who came and took her
this morning as well as the children?”

“I didn‟t know anything about that until just over an hour ago,” Nathan answered
honestly, “but I believe her mother was seriously injured, on the verge of dying. I just
found out myself. My men acted on their own..they were friends with Jay-la growing up.
They probably just wanted to help her in a time of need, I imagine”.

“The woman in the video.” Lauren frowned is her mother? We didn‟t think she had a
family.”

“What video, and she still has both parents and a brother” Lauren produced a phone
from a pocket of her jacket, and accessed it. Showed him the video of Vera on the
hospital bed, bloody wound dressings covering her arms, chest, part of her face, her
abdomen and down her legs „bloody Abbey, how stupid could she be‟ he thought. He
sighed heavily, it was no wonder she was pouring out distress.

He turned the phone off, having seen enough, “her phone?” he enquired and at Lauren‟s
nod, he simply put it in his shirt pocket, he would give it back to her once he was back,
at the pack.

“Looks like it was an animal attack.” Lauren pointed out.

“It was a wolf, I believe,” his mother spoke. “We live quite close to a forest and there is a
natural wolf population there. Both Tony and Lauren‟s eyes moved to their only child. He
could see worry written on both of them “She will be safe”„ Nathan assured them “Wolf
attacks don‟t happen often and when they do we deal with them quickly and put the
blood-thirsty ones out of their misery… As for Jay-la and the triplets” he avoided calling
them his children he didn‟t think that would go over well with them just yet. they are
perfectly safe, and completely unharmed.”

“I‟d like to know of your intentions where our dear Jay-la is involved? I‟m sure you can
see why we are troubled about her, where you are concerned.” Tony‟s attention was
returned to Nathan as he spoke, his brown eyes boring into him, just like a good dad
trying to be threatening and authoritative.

Nathan was not currently giving off any alpha aura, Havoc was sitting at the back of his
mind listening but not participating, he wanted to appear human and of no threat to
this family. “Marriage.” he stated simply “l know we have some issues to work out. But
we will work them out.”

“Some?” Tony frowned at him, shaking his head slightly.

“Yes…l assure you it is all just a misunderstanding, Jay-la has read things wrongly, and
we will work them out”

“Your wife, Sophia?”

Now that did surprise him. Just how much did they know.

“Divorced, 2 and half years. Didn‟t work out,” he shrugged.

“Do you think she‟ll marry you? Just because the two of you share children. Because I
don‟t” Tony said, being very direct.

“love her, always have.” Nathan replied calmly. He had in fact thoroughly enjoyed being
in a relationship with her, he had not actually had s*x with anyone else while he was
sleeping with her, not even thought about it actually, so he could suppose that
somewhere deep down inside, a part of him felt that very real connection to her, a bond,
that is now the Mate Bond. Once she scented him out everything would be able to be
worked out.

“Then why tell her to leave and marry someone else?” Rae-Rae shot at him from across
the room, anger lacing her words.

His eyes moved to her, she had some guts. He thought to himself “extenuating
circumstances.” He shrugged, he couldn‟t answer that question truthfully, none of them
would understand. Rae-Rae would eventually understand it. Once marked and mated by
Micheal.

“That‟s bullshit. She told me herself, you loved your wife.” She called him on it, right
away.

He watched as Micheal tried to get her to stop and just be quiet.

To his complete surprise, she shoved his hands away from her and stomped right over
to him, right next to him and pointed a finger right in his face, anger still coming from
her. So much like his mother, he thought absently, very ballsy.

“lf you loved her, how could you send her away and tell her never to come back?” she
demanded.

“Again” extenuating circumstances, perhaps one day you will understand Rae-Rae” he
replied calmly. He quite liked the little human and he could see why Jay-la did, she had a
fierceness about her. Probably reminded Jay-la of a wolf.

“I should beat you,” she snapped, “like she was,” Nathan frowned at her. “I have never
wished harm on her Rae-Rae, I assure you. I just wanted her to come home. I missed
her… had no idea about the triplets at all. I‟m sorry for that. You have no idea how
sorry.”

She stood there glaring down at him, completely unaware that she would never be
allowed to do it again, never get away with this behaviour and attitude towards him in
the future..

“Rae-Rae calm down” he heard Lauren say softly.

“No, let her be angry, she has the right to be angry, you all do. As does Jay-la, so go
ahead yell and scream, get it all out:” Nathan shrugged, he could not deny them their
own emotions over everything that had gone on.

“I would like to talk to Jay la,” Tony stated flatly, “you can call her, I presume?”

“I can call Jackson, but she was asleep when called earlier, passed out from emotional
exhaustion, our doctor said.”

“Try,” he stated simply.

Nathan nodded, pulled out his phone and dialled Jackson‟s number. It only rang 3 times
before he picked up. “Yes boss.”

Nathan hit the speaker button, “Jackson you‟re on speaker, I have Tony and Lauren here,
they want to speak with Jay-la.”

“Still sleeping Nathan,”

“You have eyes on her then?”

“Yes, I can send a photo if you like?”

“Do it,” Nathan stated.

It only took a minute to come through, it annoyed him that she was clearly sleeping on
the bed next to Jackson, but he had to trust him, she had a hand clutched into his shirt.
Clearly, hadn‟t wanted to be alone „to close‟ Havoc huffed.

“He‟s not her mate Havoc, just close friends, always were remember.” Havoc huffed
again but stayed quiet.

She looked exhausted, her face puffy from crying and she was mostly covered by the
duvet that Jackson had tucked around her, he was on it, she was under it, her hair was a
mess and she wore no make-up, not that she needed it in his eyes.

He pushed his phone across the table for them to see the picture for themselves.
“Thank you Jackson” he said when they had all seen the photo, and was about to hang it
up when Lauren chimed in.

“The triplets, even though I do not believe you would hurt them, may we please speak
with them?”

“I‟ll have to get Jody and Ethan to call you back on that one. They are with Jody.”

“Do it,” Nathan said and ended the call. “it might take a few minutes. Jody is Jay-la‟s
father, by the way”

They waited…

Ethan actually video called, which was great because the triplets were all there and he
and Havoc got to actually see them in real-time. They too looked tired and worn out,
but were okay.

They spoke with Tony and Lauren. He handed them his phone, so they had full control
of the conversation. It was good to hear their voices. They answered all Tony and
Lauren‟s questions without hesitation, were happy to see Rae-Rae. He could hear it in
their voices.

They were safe and okay with their Grandpa, their words and Nathan couldn‟t help but
smile, they were already adjusting to the pack. He just knew it. Could feel the kinship
with Jay-la‟s father, they had accepted him easily.

They were excited to tell Tony, Lauren and Rae Rae that it was snowing outside, “come
and look” They all yelled excitedly at the same time Ethan had trailed them with the
phone. It was the first snowfall of the season. They all ran outside to play in the snow.
He watched as all three of the humans in front of him visually relaxed at seeing them so
happy.

He held his hand out for his phone. “May 1?” Tony handed it back to him and he got to
watch them for himself for a short while, they looked very happy. It warmed his heart
just to know that they could be that happy inside his pack. They looked at home. “Ethan,
snag them. It‟ll be too cold for them and I want to speak with them myself for a minute.”
Ethan called them back inside and sat them on the couch once more. Nathan couldn‟t
help but smile at them, even HavoC was purring quietly inside, excited to see them so
happy, knowing that they would get to see them very soon.

“Hello, I‟m Nathan. I thought you might like it if Rae-Rae came for a visit, right away.”

They all yelled “yes” excitedly and he actually chuckled, couldn‟t help himself, it wasn‟t
the introduction he wanted with them but just talking to them, even though they had no
idea who he was and hearing them answer him so happily brought him and havoc pure
Joy.

He didn‟t want to end the call but needed to, had to get back to the pack.

He turned back to Tony and Lauren, who were staring at him now. They didn‟t like what
he‟d said to the triplets. That was clear, they weren‟t ready to let their baby girl go off to
another part of the country with a man they clearly didn‟t trust, but he was going to
gain their trust the easy way.

“If Rae-Rae is willing,” he said to the both of them, “Td like her to accompany Micheal
and my family back home and that way Jay-la has someone she trusts completely with
her and you both can call Rae-Rae for updates anytime you like, I‟m sure your daughter
wouldn‟t lie to you.. this also should give you some piece of mind, that I mean Jay-la no
harm.”

They seemed to be thinking it over. Rae-Rae looked excited at the prospect. “Can I?” she
asked them eagerly.

“And when will we be invited?” Tony asked.

“I would like a few days to sort things out with Jay-la, but after that anytime you like. I‟l
let her call you and make the arrangements. Would that suit you?”

“If you think she will stay…she has a whole life here,” Tony said, disbelief in his voice. He
didn‟t believe that she would willingly stay ” a boyfriend.”

Nathan frowned “l‟m sure | can sort everything out and I don‟t think she is serious about
Timothy Bolton.” he used the man‟s name so they understood that he knew who they
were talking about. “About Rae-Rae?” he questioned them “I would like to get back and
make sure Jay-la is okay and has everything she needs.”

He could see Rae-Rae nervously biting her lower l!p, waiting for her parents‟ permission.
Technically, she didn‟t need it, she was 18 and could make the decision herself, but
clearly wanted their approval, she was ever so slightly bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Mum, dad…can I please go and see where Micheal lives?” she was practically begging
them.

Lauren caved in first and Tony sighed and nodded after Lauren agreed, so the man, it
seemed, went along with his wife‟s opinions, he would have to remember that. Rae-Rae
practically squealed with delight and excitement, then ran out the room yelling about
packing a suitcase.

Lauren turned her eyes directly on him the minute her daughter was out of the room,
they were hard and devoid of all emotion “I will call randomly. If either of my girls don‟t
pick up. I will come for them, and that will be it. Do you understand me? Am I making
myself perfectly clear to you” Her tone implied she was not to be argued with and that
she would indeed follow through, the unsaid threat being she would remove both her
girls and neither he nor Micheal would be allowed to see them! Little did she know that
would never happen.

Nathan liked her instantly. He could see where Rae-Rae got her guts from. Lauren
appeared to be a lovely, well-mannered lady, but underneath she was a warrior of a
woman. Not really surprising considering who she was and how she was raised.
Probably didn‟t have to exert her authority much, but when she did, it was all there for
everyone to see, she was not a woman to be messed with.

“Agreed. Will you bring your father‟s goons with you?” he half laughed.

Tony frowned at him. “Yes, we will, a whole platoon of them.”

Nathan smiled and stood, he was ready to leave. Both his parents stood with him. “We‟ll
wait outside for Rae-Rae” he nodded.
Still amused by the two of them. They would likely all get along really well once
everything was cleared up and he was Mated to Jay-la.

Chapter 29
Jay-ła POV

Jay-la woke to find Jackson sleeping on the bed next to her in a sitting position. It surely
was an odd feeling, she lay there and just watched him for a solid minute, he looked
very relaxed, his chin on his chest his eyes closed, his arms were folded across his chest,
he was still dressed as he had been earlier.

He had not left her side the entire day, she knew it. She knew Stephen had also been
around and for once truly was thankful for him. She felt very relaxed at this moment,
compared to this morning, and being unable to cope with all that had happened, she
felt light and with none of the usual weight that she had felt on her every day of her life
since leaving the pack. Stephen had clearly used his Gamma Charm to not only calm her
down but maybe take away her fear for the moment.

She glanced around the room. It was very large, with a set of large french doors off to
the left of the bed, with soft sheer curtains tied on either side. She could see there was a
balcony out there. The furniture in the room was all in soft grey and cream, there were
two wing-backed grey and cream striped chairs with a light wood table between them,
for shared meals she guessed.

A door that was open and must lead to the living space. There were also two other
doors both open on her right, a bathroom and a walk-in wardrobe, she guessed. A long
grey and white ottoman at the end of the bed, which was king-sized with a grey velour
bedhead, there were several large windows and all the curtains, grey in colour, were
open and she could see it was dark outside.

She was lying in the very comfortable bed, with a cream duvet over her. She checked to
make sure she was wearing clothes. Still was, not that she thought Jackson would cross
the line with her.

She reached out and squeezed his arm gently to wake him.
His light grey eyes opened and moved directly to hers. “Hey there,” he smiled gently at
her, before glancing at his watch, then back to her with a slight frown.

“Where are my children?” she asked right away. She could not smell them at all, so they
were not close by.” Where are we?

“With Jody at his place,” he replied, rolling his shoulders in a stretch that made his
muscles ripple and c0ck, her eyes followed the movement unconsciously “You, my dear,
are in the pack house.” His tone had changed ever so slightly, a hint of amusement and
when she looked up to him he had this small amused smile on his face, he had seen her
watching him.

“Why not with dad?” she ignored his look and sat herself up next to him.

“Your distress over your mother was really affecting them, so Stephen and I made the
decision to separate you, till you could get yourself under control and together, you
were really struggling Jay-la, your distress was affecting myself and Ethan too, Stephen
being the Gamma not so much. It‟s his job to deal with that kind of stuff I guess.”

“Oh,‟ she bit her lip “I‟m sorry,” she shook her head, “I had no idea my being upset
would affect anyone…” though she had seen on occasion how her children reacted to
her emotions, recalled if she was really sad, they appeared to be sad too, and became all
quiet, she just put it down to the mother, child bond between them, but if her emotional
state had effected both Jackson and Stephen that was odd indeed. “Are they okay?” she
hoped that they were, her distress levels had been off the charts and she knew it, had
not been able to cope at all.

“Yes, perfectly fine now it appears, happy with Jody, accepted him as your father, but l
guess seeing you hug him the way you did, meant that they knew you trusted him.”

Jay-la pushed her hair out of her face and sighed “Am allowed to see them?” she could
already feel that weight of worry coming back. She was in the pack after all and her
Alpha could stop her from seeing her children. It wouldn‟t take much at all. A simple
order.

“Of course you are. Why would you think you aren‟t?” he frowned at her.” You may go
anywhere you like, you are a pack member Jay-la, nothing is off limits to you.” again he
looked at his watch “you didn‟t sleep long barely 2 hours, I surely thought you‟d been
out much longer.”

Jay-la shrugged, “I don‟t feel like I was awake much today,” and she highly doubted that
she could go anywhere she wanted.

“You spent the entire flight in Stephens‟ arms sleeping, so 5 hours give or take, and then
you passed out at your mother‟s bedside. Its 8pm now.”

“Is this your suite Jackson?” she asked curiously, nudging him a little playfully. She had
recalled how he and his wolf had responded to her flirting back in her office.

He laughed out loud, it was filled with amusement and the grin on his face when he
turned to look at her was full of happiness and cheek, “Oh no, Nathan would kill me if l
put you in my bed.”

The smile on her face at his reaction to her question was gone in an instant and
replaced with a glare, she threw the duvet off and got out of the bed. Just because she‟d
had his pups, didn‟t mean he had control over whose bed she was going to be allowed
to get into. Yes she‟d had to send Tim away, but she was not going to be bullied by him
into being alone for the rest of her life, just because his wolf didn‟t like another man
around her children, he would damned well have to deal with it.

“Where is he?” she asked her, worried about being in pack territory finally coming back
to her completely. “when am l going to have to report myself to him.. be punished?” she
sighed the last two words out, it was unlikely she could get away from him now.

Jackson chuckled at her softly and got off the bed. “He‟s not here, dealing with Rae-Rae
and her family. I‟m not sure when he‟ll return, no eta at this point. But he did tell me,
you may go wherever you like, no restrictions at all. Including Kora,”

She was staring at him now, eyes narrowed on him, she didn‟t believe it. To be honest,
she turned away from him, spotted the bathroom and headed for it. She looked a right
mess, puffy eyes and slightly swollen bottom lip, from biting on it she guessed, her
clothes were all rumpled and her hair was a mess.
She used the toilet, washed her hands, then her face and ran her hands through her
messy hair, trying to neaten it as best she could.

When she came out, Jackson was leaning all casual like on the doorway which she
thought led out of the bedroom, waiting for her, she supposed “pups or mum first?” he
asked.

“My children, I am sure they are worried.” Kora agreed, though she was acting a little
odd, pacing around in circles inside of her mind, ears flat against her head, tail low.

„What‟s wrong Kora?‟

„Vera smelled funny, want to go there again.‟

„Pups first?‟ Jay-ła queried, wanting to help Kora‟s needs out First. She didn‟t usually act
this way.

Whatever it was, I was really bothering her.

„Of course, yes‟ Kora snorted, as though that was a stupid question.

Jackson walked her out of the suite. Her eyes widened when she realised she was on the
Alpha‟s floor, she could suddenly feel fear ebbing into her, she felt Jackson‟s gaze on
her, she had been on this floor a thousand times growing up, she knew it just by sight.
She turned and looked at the room she‟d been in and nearly stumbled over her own
feet. It was the Luna Suite.

She heard Jackson chuckle at her reaction and turned her eyes on him questioningly.

“What? Where else would I put you? You did birth his pups Jay-la. Heirs to the pack.” he
was smiling that very amused smile at her. Like the unspoken question she had turned
on him was the funniest thing he‟d ever heard.

That doesn‟t make me the Luna!” she muttered. She was not his mate. “I don‟t think it is
at all appropriate, Jackson.”
“It‟s completely appropriate,” he replied “unless..” his voice trailed off as they walked
down the long hallway heading for the stairs or elevator, she guessed.

“Unless what?” she bit her lip nervously, wondering if he meant a cell

“Unless,” he nudged her playfully, “you wanted me to put you in the Alpha suite?” and
his head nodded to the solid oak double doors that they were passing on her right. She
could hear more amusement in his voice.

Her head whipped around “Why the hell would I be in there?” she gasped at him, a little
horrified by the question. The last time she‟d been on pack territory he‟d been furiously
angry at her, “Like he‟d want that.” she snapped at him.

Jackson‟s laughing at her was igniting anger in her. “Oh come on Jay-la, its not like the
two of you have never.” he left it unsaid. Knowing she would get his meaning.

“That was a very long time ago, before he hated me.”

Jackson was still smiling at her amused it seemed even more so than before. “Hmm, I
don‟t think he hates you, I think the man would love nothing more than to punish you in
the fun way.. if you know what I mean” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Anger claimed her. “He can go shove it, if he thinks after all that has happened I will
crawl back into his bed, he‟s in for a rude shock.” she grated out between clenched
teeth.

“oh l‟m sure he will shove it somewhere, the first chance he gets.” the laughing that was
coming out of him was practically making him bend over from pure amusement.

Her anger boiled over. “I know you think you‟re being funny. But it is not in the slightest
bit funny to me, Jackson!” she yelled at him.

He stood, cleared his throat, reined in his laughing and nodded “Noted…you know,
you‟re not as fun as you used to be.”

“Well, I wonder why?” she glared at him and then stormed off towards the staircase. She
knew there was an elevator she could take. The pack house was 5 stories high but she
really wanted to stomp all the way to the bottom floor, allowing her anger and
displeasure at his stupid remarks to be known.

Jackson trailed her down the stairs and out of the pack house. It was snowing outside
and more than a light flurry, her eyes moved around the pack, she had always loved it
when snow covered it, made everything seem just that little bit magical, there was a
good couple of inches of snow. She turned her eyes upwards „Are we expecting a snow
storm?”

“Looking to hide in a snow drift?” he seemed amused again.

“No, just curious is all.”

“It‟s the first snow, actually, a small blizzard is expected. The Alpha might not make it
back tonight if he‟s not careful.”

Those words were music to her ears, to be honest. A day/night on pack territory where
she didn‟t have to worry about him coming for her, was a relief. She wasn‟t looking
forward to their showdown.

Jackson went with her all the way to her parents‟ house.

“Are you going to follow me everywhere?”

“Probably,” he nodded simply, “you might run away again?”

“like you or Apollo could catch me,” she shot back. “Kora is so much faster than you,
always has been, nothing has changed if you recall.” she smiled at him knowing he
would recall he had not been able to catch her the last time she was here.

He simply chuckled, not taking the bait. “Hmm, maybe we should go for a run later and
let our wolves just see about that”

She snorted at him. He had no idea just how big and powerful her beautiful Kora was
nowadays. None of them did.
She guessed they were going to be in for a hell of a shock at some point. Especially if
they were to come to blows, she hoped it wouldn‟t come to that, Kora would likely tear
into them and leave very deep wounds, ones that would leave them scared for life. She
could only imagine as she recalled the way Kora had come forward against Alpha Blaine.

Jay-la knocked lightly on the front door of her parents‟ house and called out as she
opened it to let her father know it was her, “in the kitchen baby girl,” he called back.

She walked into the house and headed directly for the kitchen. She could smell her
children in that direction as well, and the delicious aroma of steak and Alfredo pasta,
plus there was something sweet. Kora put her nose to it. OMG her father was cooking all
her favourite dishes. That something sweet was a blueberry and apple pie.

Jay-la walked into the kitchen and there were her precious babies all sitting together
eating away. They all turned their big green eyes on her and smiled at her. Kora purred
so loudly at seeing them in this setting, happy with their grandfather, that her chest
vibrated and the children all laughed at her and yelled.

“Hi Kora,” waving at them.

Kora growled playfully at them, and Jay-la went over and kissed each one of them on
the top of their heads.

“So they do know what they are?” Jackson mused aloud.

“Of course, they do!” Jay-la frowned at him.” Why would they not?”

“You could have raised them human? For all l know,” he shrugged.

“And how would I have explained Kora to them? if that was the case.”

Again he just shrugged at her.

Turning away from him, she asked her father “ls everything okay, how is mum doing”

“Still unconscious for now, but the doc assured me she will be just fine”. He walked over
to her and hugged her to his chest.
“I‟m sorry baby girl.”

“What for?” she enquired, frowning up at him.

He kissed her on the forehead. “Everything,” he said simply.

She was a little confused, didn‟t understand why he was apologising to her, when she
had been the one who‟d never come home.

“I‟m sorry I got banished,” she hugged him back.

“Not your fault.” he sounded a little angry.

“Have dinner with us, baby girl.”

She was hungry, hadn‟t had anything to eat since breakfast which had been a cup of
coffee and some toast. So just nodded, it would be nice to eat dinner with her family in
her family home.

She turned and looked at Jackson for permission, figuring with him following her
everywhere she probably needed it.

Clearly he was under Alphal‟s orders not to leave her alone. He‟d told her she could go
anywhere and with him right next to her she guessed she probably could. How very
annoying.

“I‟ll catch you up at the pack hospital then.‟ and he turned and headed out the door.

That surprised her, that he had left her there alone. She was, it seemed, actually going to
be allowed to be able to roam free without constant surveillance.

She sat down as her father, Jody dished her up a plate. It was heaven she had missed his
cooking. The triplets were also enjoying it, it seemed, she watched Nate ask for seconds
and was promptly given another serving by her father. She asked about her brother
Bradley and was informed he was at his place with his Mate.
She stared at him, she had not known Brad had found his Mate. She had missed out on
so much, it hurt more than a little “do they have pups?”

“Not yet Jody laughed” Brad wants to wait, he‟s a bit older than Victoria, and thought
she might like to live her life a bit first before becoming a mother.”

“How much older?” she asked. Brad was3 years older than her, 29 now.

“Ten years, he only met her last year, Victoria is just 19.”

“Wow.”

Yeah, a bit of a surprise. He and | trained her too, when she was a junior. She‟s a lovely
girl.”

“Wait, what? Why are you training the juniors?” Oh goddess, he had gotten demoted
because of her actions, had her whole family been punished by the Alpha over that one
slap.

“My choice baby girl, and when I opted to train the junior‟s, Brad followed as well.” he
tried to waylay her fears, that were probably noticeable for him to see. He had always
been able to read her like book.

“Did he demote you? Because of what I did” she still asked. She couldn‟t help herself
even though he had told her it was his choice, she still worried that it wasn‟t and just
didn‟t want her to feel responsible for it.

“No! I refused to continue to train him because of what he did. Brad also refused to take
over my position because of it as well”

“Oh! May I ask why?”

“I was pissed off, baby girl, and so was your brother and mother for that matter.”

“Probably didn‟t go down so well then?” she hoped they had not been punished for
their actions.
“Not particularly, Alpha Blaine tried to convince me to keep training the Alpha Unit, but l
just couldn‟t. He lost my respect that day and I told him as much.”

“Did you get into trouble because of me?” she worriedly asked.

“No, Alpha Blaine said he completely understood, was also mad about what his son had
actually done. But what was done was done. He tried to reassure your mother and me
that you would come back at some point. I think he truly believed you would. There was
this certainty in him and a tiny smile on his lips.”

“I was never coming back,” she said softly, sadly, her eyes moving to her children, who
were chatting amongst themselves enjoying pie now.

“I can see why,” he nodded.

“It‟s not a good situation dad,” she sighed, not wanting to elaborate in front of the
triplets.

“It‟ll be fine baby girl… I assure you.” he patted her shoulder reassuringly.

She had very serious doubts about that. But didn‟t even know if he knew she‟d been
here a few weeks ago and didn‟t want to bring it up just in-case he didn‟t.

She made her way to the pack hospital after dinner. The snow was really coming down
now.

Thankfully, her parents had left her room as it was and she‟d found all of her winter
clothing still in the wardrobe where she had left them. They had not thrown anything
out, nothing had changed in her room. It was obviously cleaned on a regular basis as
there was no dust in here and the room didn‟t smell musty, so her parents must have
opened the window regularly to air it out as well.

The triplets were to stay in Brads old room, while she could use her old room
apparently. She avoided looking at the photos in the frames on the shelves and walls,
there were many of her and them, the alpha unit growing up, and two of just her and
him as well. She was surprised that her parents hadn‟t thrown those ones out.
She was watching the triplets as they wandered about her old bedroom looking at the
photos in her room. They seemed quite curious. She guessed they were recognising the
men in the photos from their plane trip today, they didn‟t look much different.

She watched as Nate stood in front of a picture of her and Nathan and just stared at it
for a long moment, his head tilted slightly to the side, his eyes narrowed, then he just
walked away. She wondered if he had guessed the man in the photo was their father.

“Probably, the resemblance is very uncanny,” Kora piped up.

„Maybe‟, Jay-la thought. Her children were not known for their tactfulness, they just
asked for whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. She‟d never curbed their
curiosity. A curious mind was a learning mind.

Chapter 30
Jay-la POV

She walked into the pack hospital, just as Abbey the Alpha‟s sister was leaving it. She
smiled right at Jay-la Welcome back‟ she said through the mind-link, a slight smirk on
her face, and then continued on her way past her.

Kora pushed forward and turned to look at her, smelled her scent and almost growled at
her.

What is it Kora?

Don‟t like her. Something is wrong. Go to Vera now.

Jay-la would not ignore Kora‟s instincts, but they could come back to it later, she
guessed, they both wanted to see her mother. Vera was still sleeping, as expected.

Jay-la questioned the evening nurse, a girl she‟d actually gone to school with, Rebecca, a
pretty red head, very tall and athletic. She had been completely shocked to see Jay-la.
She guessed the wide-eyed stares were going to have to be something she would have
to get used to for now.
The whole pack Would have been aware of her banishment, and likely the reason as
well. She didn‟t really need that attention at all but was probably going to be stared at a
lot.

They were indeed expecting her mother to wake up tomorrow at some point, possibly
during the early hours of the morning, they would inform her father the minute Vera
was awake. Her wounds were being treated as per wound protocol due to lvy not being
present, and there were no signs of infection in any of the wounds. Which was good.

Jay-la returned to her mother‟s side. Kora pushed forward right away to the very surface
and peered down at her through their shared eyes, then leaned down and smelled her, a
growl came from her and she shoved Jay-la to the back of her own mind in full control
of her human body, shocking Jay-la.

„What is it?‟ she asked, but didn‟t try to take back control, she knew Kora‟s instincts had
kicked in and she could sense something that Jay-la could not, something that Kora was
obviously not happy about.

Kora leaned right down and smelled Vera‟s wounds, several of them. Her head whipped
around as the door opened and Jackson appeared before her, he was carrying two cups
of steaming coffee, his whole body stilled at the sight of Kora being in full control of
Jay-la‟s body.

Kora didn‟t perceive him as a threat to her and turned her attention back to Vera,
ignoring him completely. The scent was itching at her, very faint, woodsy, definitely
female, the scent was old and, seeing as the wounds had been cleaned, already
distorted.

“What are you doing?” Jackson asked out loud.

Kora ignored him, pulled off a dressing on Vera‟s chest and pressed herself close to it
closing her eyes to block out everything other than her sense of smell and inhaled
deeply, to try and catch the actual scent. It took only a few seconds before her eyes
snapped open anda very aggressive snarl erupted from her.

„Alpha scent in the wound…‟

Jay-la was completely shocked by this Kora.. did the Alpha… do this?‟ Anger was tinging
her thoughts, if he hurt her mother, he would pay.

Female Alpha scent…Abbey. she growled loudly, finally recognising the scent. Vera had
been injured by one of her own pack members, by the Alpha family themselves, the very
people who were in-charge of protecting the pack members.

Jay-la? Jackson‟s voice queried through the mind-link, worry lacing his voice.

Kora turned and glared at him, then shot past him at full wolf speed. He was knocked
completely out of the way with the full force of her strength, not something he would
have been expecting. She heard him swear and get up yelling after her. He was going to
be giving chase, but he would never catch Kora, never could and she was much stronger
and faster now.

He was using the mind-link to tell her to calm down, to tell him what was wrong, asking
what was going on. She ignored him, Kora and her mind were in sync. Abbey had nearly
killed her mother. For whatever reason she didn‟t know, was she as pissed off with her as
the current Alpha was. Is that what that smirk had been about?

Did Abbey think that Kora wouldn‟t be able to pick up her scent? Did Abbey think it was
okay to attack a pack member and severely injure them, nearly kill them? Kora and she
were not going to stand for that, no matter what she herself had done in the past her
family was off limits. Her family should not be punished for her actions.

Kora was in complete control of their human body. running through the heaving falling
snow, heading for the pack house. Rage filled her, her claws were already out. Their
family was off limits. Jackson, she knew, was still giving chase, but they were much faster
than him and Kora was running at full speed. Only an Alpha could catch her now. And
apparently he wasn‟t here.

Alpha blood or not, Kora and Jay-la were going to make Abbey pay for what she had
done, if the woman wanted a fight. She could have one. How dare she take on a pack
wolf with no warrior standing? Her mother ran the pack crèche and would not be a
match for Abbey, who had alpha blood coursing through her veins. But Jay-la and Kora,
were a bloody good match for the female alpha.
Let‟s see you pick on someone who can fight back, someone who trained all their lives
with the Alpha Unit, was once the head warrior‟s daughter. Oh Abbey was going to pay.

She could hear not only Jackson now through the mind-link, but Stephen and Ethan
were all pushing thoughts at her, yelling at her to calm down. She ignored all of them,
severing the link to them altogether with a violent tearing feeling. Her rage was not
going to be dissolved by them, Kora‟s blood lust and need for revenge at this time was
the same as Jay-la‟s.

They were in complete agreement over what needed to happen, what they were about
to do. Kora shot through the pack house front door, an enormous growl ripped out of
her as she smelled Abbey‟s scent fresh and strong, she was close by. They caught
movement on their left and her eyes shot to it.

Abbey was running up the stairs, Kora was off at once after her. The girl at least knew
that she was in trouble, running Scared and she was scared Kora could smell the
woman‟s fear. She should be scared, and was about to be taught a lesson, one she
would not forget in a long time. One that would make her think twice before acting next
time.

Kora was gaining rapidly on Abbey. She could hear Abbey screaming in fear, for Jackson,
for Johnny, her mate, both Beta-blooded wolves, to come and help her.

She ran onto the Beta floor landing and Kora was in hot pursuit, snarling and growling,
her intent fully on display for the woman fleeing for her life before her. They were
almost on her just a few more seconds and they would have her, dragging her down to
punish her.

Johnny appeared from a doorway just down the hallway and shot forward with all his
Beta strength and speed to protect his Mate, Kora and Jay-la in complete sync when it
came to fighting in human form, let him come at his top speed and dropped into a slide
as he was about to launch himself at her, taking him by complete surprise, and took out
his legs, he tumbled over the top of her and landed on the floor behind her.

They were up instantly, not deterred from their prey, they hadn‟t even taken their eyes
off of Abbey. No-one else mattered to them at this point. She could hear actual yelling.
The Alpha Unit was coming, but it would be too late. Kora‟s body slammed Abbey into
the wall, bringing the both of them to a stop. They both hit the wall and bounced off.
Abbey screamed in pain and staggered about, clutching at her abdomen. Kora was up
instantly and on her, a hand around her throat and squeezing as their other hand struck
out at her, slashing at her all claws out, ripping through the skin on her upper arms.
Abbey wasn‟t even trying to fight back and was using her arms to cover her body. Did
she think not fighting back was going to save her, she was very wrong.

Kora had Abbey pinned up against the Beta hallway wall with one hand around her
throat, not trying to strangle her, just keep her in place for her beating, she would suffer
as many wounds that she had inflicted upon their mother. Kora slashed again, tearing
through the skin on her chest. The wounds were not deep enough to cause permanent
injury but enough for her to know her lesson.

She could see tears welling up in Abbey‟s eyes, fear was pouring out of the girl, and well
it should be. Please, I‟m sorry‟ she begged.

Jay-la and Kora didn‟t care, their pain and anger over their mothers current state was all
they could feel You‟ll pay.

Kora and Jay-la snarled at her in union, allowing Abbey to know that she and her wolf
were both of the same mind, and in-sync.

“I‟m pregnant. Abbey screamed out “please don‟t.”

Kora halted the savage blow they were about to land across the girls abdomen. Her
breathing was heavy and fast, they could not hurt an unborn child, they too were a
mother.

Before she could react to the news and back away she was violently slammed into the
ground and Kora reacted on instinct and shifted completely to her massive wolf form
and retaliated without much thought, biting down on the man who had attacked her. It
was Johnny, he‟d gotten up and had come to the aid of his injured mate. His grey and
black wolf burst out of him in response and turned to attack her back.

His wolf was noticeably smaller than Kora, but was raged and needed to protect his
mate.
Kora shot towards him with her front paws all claws out.

She shoved his wolf down without much effort at all and tore into his side with her
teeth, yanking a large chunk of flesh off of his wolf who howled in pain, a large
aggressive growl came from down the hall, gaining Kora‟s attention. It was threatening
her, it was Apollo in all his grey and white glory and he was not alone. Rafe a large
reddish-brown wolf, and Thorn, a black and grey wolf, the smallest of the trio, were right
there next to him, all of them stalking towards her coming down the hallway.

Johnny had shifted back to his human form, his injury appeared quite severe. He was
bleeding heavily from his rib cage area, he was holding on to his wound as he moved
towards Abbey, his Mate. Kora‟s eyes moved to him, he was watching her and stilled
instantly when she snarled at him.

Jay-la, call her of. Jackson pushed through the mind-link using his Beta tone. She knew
he was talking about Kora.

lt was Abbey who attacked my mother, not a rogue. She grated out angrily „Kora could
smell it, smell Abbey in mum‟s wounds.‟

„Okay‟ he acknowledged, though his wolf and the others were still stalking down the
hallway towards her „unless you and Kora want to take us all on, you need to stop her.

„Can‟t she is very angry‟ Jay-la shot back at him So am I!

„Calm down Jay-la…Honey: Stephen‟s voice purred through the mind-link with that
southern drawl that showed he was using his Gamma Charm on her. She and Kora
watched him step over Johnny and then shift to his human form. His hands were out in
a gesture of peace, he hunkered himself down right in front of Kora, and spoke softly to
them.

Kora sweetie, calm down. Give Jay-la back control please.

Both she and Kora could feel his Gamma Charm washing over them in full force. Kora
backed up a step and then two more. Stephen came forward „Come on Kora sweetie,
listen to me…you know you want to…calm down, let go.
Kora bowed her head and started to lay down, the effect of his goddess given gift
making her submit to him, having the desired effect on her wolf, calming her down and
ridding her of her rage „shift back now‟ He told her once she was all the way down and
wanting to comply with his every word.

She shifted back, leaving Jay-la lying naked on the floor in the middle of the hallway.
She watched as both Jackson and Ethan also shifted back. Ethan moved off to help
Johnny up and assisted him into his room along with Abbey.

The minute Abbey moved from the wall, a growl ripped out of her in response to the
woman being moved away from them and the punishment she so deserved.

Kora sweetie…relax, „we can talk about it later, just stay calm‟.

Kora was calm on the outside, obeying his every word, but on the inside she was still
being fuelled by Jay-la‟s anger, they were a boiling pot of rage on the inside. This was
not over, not by a long shot. For the moment, they were under the Gamma‟s control, but
he‟d have to let it go sooner or later.

Jackson disappeared through a door and came back with clothes. He‟d already pulled
on his pants, tossed a pair to Stephen and was moving towards her with a shirt in his
hand. He held it out to her.

“Come on Jay-la, put this on and let‟s talk rationally about what happened,” rationally‟
she thought, the whole damned Alpha family was out to get her, first the Alpha himself,
then his brother and now his sister. What the hell is rational about that?

What‟s rational about that?‟ Kora huffed „take the shirt, we‟ll finish this later. they could
not however, Stephen had yet to release them. It took him a minute before he realized
he was still forcing her to submit, and released her from his aura. Jay-la reached out and
took the shirt and pulled it on before standing up to stare at them.

Stephen sighed “Okay, let‟s all stay calm and go downstairs.” he motioned for them all
to move down the hall.

Jay-la, however, did not move, his Charm had lifted and her anger was filling her and
pouring out of her again. This whole pack was starting to feel rotten, she could not let
her babies grow up here, become like all of the alpha‟s in this family, angry and
resentful. She watched as Stephen and Ethan moved to go down the hallway.

Jackson, on the other hand, had yet to move at all, not a single inch, he appeared tense
as he stood less than an arms length away, his body was completely still, his eyes
directly on her. He was not fooled at all.

Jay-la snapped the palm of her hand out and directly into his solar plexus. There was a
sharp intake of breath from him but he managed to dodge out of the way of the round
house kick that came his way. She was crashed to the floor by Ethan as her foot landed
on the ground, and instantly started to fight him, punched and kicked at him, fighting
like she had been trained all her life to do, with everything she had, he was mostly
defending and redirecting her attacks, not really trying to hit her back, just subdue her
she thought.

It took the three of them to force her over and onto her stomach so that they could pin
her down and hold her down.

“Stephen, for the love of the Goddess get control of her” Jackson snapped.

Jay-la was screaming at them to get off of her, but they would not, they did not think
she would calm down and they were right not to. Stephen appeared right in front of her,
his Gamma Charm flowing out of him and directly onto her. “

Jay-la…honey calm down..listen to me..stop fighting‟ he was throwing everything at her

and wouldn‟t let up until she was lying there with tears brimming in her eyes, how she
hated his Gamma Charm, one day she would make herself strong enough not to listen
to it.

She was picked up off the floor by both Jackson and Ethan and, with Stephen still using
his Gamma Charm, she was marched up the stairs to the Alpha‟s floor and force-ably
put into the Luna Suite. They let go of her, but not Stephen.

He was still using his gift to get her to comply and go inside and stay there. Everyone
left the room but her. The door was locked behind them and Stephen finally released
her from his gift.
She staggered a little as she was released from his aura and Jay-la, with Kora‟s strength
attacked the door to the suite, trying to get it open. It was locked from the other side,
she kicked and punched it, lashing out with all they had.

Trying to force it open.

“It‟s reinforced Jay-la, you‟re not getting out of there unless I or the Alpha let you out, so
just calm down. I am not opening it while you‟re so angry.” he shot at her through the
mind-link. He sounded angry and annoyed with her.

“Let me out,” she screamed right back at him through the link he had established, her
fight renewed at the thought of the Alpha coming for her while she was locked in here.

“No” he stated firmly The Alpha will be here soon, he can deal with that temper of
yours.”

Jay-la stepped away from the door, backed away from it, she had to find away out of
this room, before he came for her. Her punishment would be even worse now. She had
just attacked his pregnant sister, and though she had not originally known the woman
was pregnant, she was and that was something he would never stand for. None of them
would, this was bad.

We‟ll go out fighting Jay-la. Kora huffed, also annoyed that they were trapped in this
room.

We just need to stop him from coming in, to have a chance to get away‟ Jay-la turned
and looked around the room, then started moving furniture. She used Kora‟s strength to
pick up and throw a chair at the door, then a table, and then the small couch.

Making as much noise as she could to make it like she was throwing a tantrum.

“it‟s not use Jay-la, the door will not budge,” Jackson sighed at her through the link.

Jay-la put every bit of furniture she could move up against that door. It opened inward,
good luck getting it open now, she thought. Then she walked from room to room, trying
to find away out, in the bedroom was the balcony, she pushed on the handles and the
doors swung open, snow swirled around her instantly.
Chapter 31
Nathan POV

Nathan sat in his mother‟s private plane staring at nothing in particular. He was calm,
Havoc was calm, just speaking with his children cheered them up completely, and
knowing that Jay-la, although distressed and in need of her Mate‟s comfort, had not
bolted from the pack with her children the minute she had woken up also kept them
calm.

They were just a few hours away now, they would not be waiting til morning to meet
her, they would be headed to wherever Jackson reported she was, they would not wait
another minute for her to know what they were to her.

He would wake her from sleep, he honestly didn‟t care if she would be grumpy with him,
he was going to stand and watch her, watch as even in her sleep some part of her would
register his scent and Kora would likely wake her itching for her Mate, the minute she
scented him out.

He had no idea how it was actually going to go. They certainly had issues to work
through, but she had known him for 20 years that would surely come into play. Surely,
somewhere inside her fear-riddled body, there would be a part of her that would be
happy it was him. Trying to convince Havoc not to launch himself at her might be a
bigger issue. He heard Havoc chortle at him. He was also happy, inside Nathan‟s mind,
knowing he would be with his Mate had put him in a good mood. Not often that
happened.

Nathan stared down at the text message he‟d just gotten from his Beta, Jackson, a deep
frown marring his handsome face “Jay-la is locked in the Luna Suite. Sorry boss had too.‟
and his calm and happiness, gone just like that, replaced by exasperation and worry for
his Mate.

The last call he had received from his Beta, everything had been fine. Jay-la was having a
late dinner with her father and the triplets.

Everything seemed okay. She had not tried to take them and run off, even though she
knew he would be back at some point. Jay-la had even asked when he was going to be
back. Jackson had bluffed her off with an unknown eta, although he knew that Nathan
was on his way and only a few hours out, and she had not questioned it. Just seemed a
bit relieved by the answer.

He hit the call button only to have it rejected, which was something you just don‟t do.
No one dismissed an alpha‟s phone cal.

Well, with the exception of Jay-la, he thought, she definitely would, but she had other
reasons, fear-filled reasons which he had to talk to her about, make sure she knew that
there was nothing to fear, that he meant her no harm, but he knew he could not address
her fears until he came face to face with her.

A text came through in short order “sorry boss, don‟t need her knowing how close you
are. Already angry and losing it.”

For the love of the goddess, he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. What the hell
had happened in the last hour or so? He was still in the air a couple of hours away “what
happened?” he texted back.

How much can possibly happen in an hour and this late at night, with snow falling on
the pack, most of the pack members would be in their homes by now. Staying out of the
cold.

“Kora let loose on Abbey. And Kora..well, boss a lot bigger than she used to be. Almost
as large as Apollo is.”

Kora was larger, and almost as big as Apollo. That was an utter shock, she had been
such a cute tiny wolf, barely reached Havocs chest when they had stood side by side.
She almost always looked like a pup of a wolf, it was so cute, it had always amused him
to no end, something they had all teased her about, how such a tiny wolf could have
such a fierce human counterpart. Now it appeared Kora was not only just as feirce, but
also had the build to go with it.

He could feel HavOC wagging his tail in his mind. He was happy with the news.

„Mate strong.‟
Nathan already knew that, perhaps it was why his mother and father hadn‟t wanted a
fight between them. Perhaps his father was right in the thought that even Storm didn‟t
want to fight her, she was different than before.

“Why at Abbey?” he asked, though his gut was telling him he already knew the answer
to it.

“Smelled Abbey on Vera‟s wounds, I believe.”

“Abbey still alive? Her pup?”

“Injured, as is Johnny, both in the pack hospital, Ethan is with them.”

He sighed, I guess Jay-la taught Abbey a lesson, one she really did need to learn, he
supposed. He hoped that her unborn pup was alright. But his power-crazed sister had
better have realised that she can‟t just go around unchecked and do as she pleased.
Better have learned her lesson, she had put her unborn pup at risk and hadn‟t even
known it at the time. Perhaps this would make her learn a desperately needed lesson.

“Will the pup survive?”

“Should do, she screamed she was pregnant, that‟s what made Kora stop, mostly took
hits to her arms and chest area, so it should be fine”

“So Jay-la is locked in the Luna Suite because?”

“Anger rolling off of her, might rival Havoc‟s boss, in that department. It took Stephen to
bring her down and fully submit using all his Gamma Charm ability, then Ethan and I, to
get her up here, but the minute he stopped using it, angry again.”

Goddess help us both, he thought absently, if the two of them went toe to toe when
they meet up.

„Never‟ Havoc huffed at him I‟m telling you Kora will want me.

„So much faith you have Havoc‟

„She was made for me, supposed to be strong‟.

„Our Mate is supposed to even us out buddy, not match your anger issues.‟

“Is she still angry?” he texted Jackson.

“Yes, currently throwing furniture around the Luna Suite, it‟ll be destroyed likely by the
time you get here”

“Stay there with her, what is the weather doing now?”

“Snowing hard, you might not get to land local.”

Just bloody great, but he‟d already heard as much from the pilot. He was just hoping the
storm would blow over and they could land.

The storm, it seemed, was moving faster than expected and it might calm down or move
away before they got to the landing trip.

“Keep me up to date and let me know when she calms down.”

“Will do, boss, just get here asap.”

Nathan leanded back in his seat. Nothing it appeared, was ever easy for the two of
them, one set back after another. He truly hoped that Havoc was right, that Kora would
want him right away. It will go along way to Jay-la wanting him as well.

His eyes fell on his mother and father. They were watching him trouble son?” his father
asked through the mind-link. They couldn‟t risk a wolfen conversation with Rae-Rae on
the plane even if she was currently sleeping, against her Mate.

“Yes, Jay-la and Kora found out Abbey was the one to hurt her mother. You can imagine
the fall out after your encounter with an angry Kora.”

“Abbey?” his mother asked right away, worried about her baby girl.
“Injured, and her mate. Both are going to be fine. You might want to call your wayward
daughter,” his mother nodded.

He got to listen to the call with his wolf hearing. Abbey was crying and sobbing the
whole time. She stated she couldnt believe what Jay-la had done to her. He watched as
both his parents‟ eyes had fallen on him and he shot through the mind-link „what the
hell did she think was going to happen? Nothing at all?

He heard his father verbally rep-remand her for her actions, which was what landed her
in her current situation. That she had to learn she couldn‟t just go about doing whatever
she felt like and expect to get away with it.

She‟d stopped crying and retorted with anger that she was an Alpha, that she answered
to no one. Nathan sighed more with annoyance than anything. So that was what she
actually believed.

Well, she did answer to someone, to him in fact, and she had, without his permission,
laid hands on her future Luna‟s mother.

Hearing her words pissed him right off and he finally understood there was only one
punishment that was going to put his power-crazed, power-hungry driven sister in her
place, and he intended to act on it whether his parents liked it or not.

He held out his hand for the phone, “Abbey, you will report to me first thing in the
morning…because you answer to ME” he grated out “I will relay to you your punishment
directly. What you did was utterly without conscious thought to yourself, your unborn
pup, your mate and to how Jay-la, your future Luna might feel or react to it.

Not to mention, you actually convinced a pack member to allow you to nearly kill her.
That alone is punishable by years in the cells. Your injuries, as far as I am concerned, are
your own fault.”

Abbey, for once, did not say anything at all. He handed the phone back. He could feel
another set of eyes on him and turned to find Micheal staring at him, a concerned look
on his face at what he had just said to his sister. He knew he had stated things aloud
which Rae-Rae might have heard but the girl would find out soon enough anyway.
His parents were staring at him too, he simply turned to them and raised an eyebrow.
He had not spoken out of place, he was the Alpha, not them, he had no intention of
imprisoning his sister.

Let them all wait for the consequences of her actions. Be damned, he didn‟t need to ask
permission. She was his sister, but she was also a pack member and the girl was about
to fall inline whether she liked it or not.

A text came from Jackson around half an hour later “she has calmed down, tantrum
over.”

“Good” he sent back, “I want Abbey in my office first thing in the morning”

“Yes, boss.”

“And Hayden and his snow-plow waiting at the strip, to assist my arrival.”

“Already there, boss, I sent him the minute l thought you‟d get caught in the storm.”

“That is why you‟re my Beta. Thank you Jackson.”

Chapter 32
Jay-ła POV

She was only wearing the tee-shirt that Jackson had provided her after her showdown
with Abbey and Johnny.

The cold snow-filled night was biting at her skin, wolves were naturally warm creatures
and could stand a bit of snow, but she had not been near snow in years and she
guessed her tolerance was lacking, She had barely been outside 10 minutes and she was
already rubbing her arms, and gritting her teeth. She knew Kora would be okay with it
once out, because she had a beautiful thick coat of fur to protect her.

Jay-la was looking for a way down from the balcony. She had used to sneak out of her
parents‟ house as a teenager, climb down the drain guttering pipe from the second
floor, and then back up and into her room when sneaking back in. usually had only done
it in the winter to play a game of hide and sneak with the boys.

Well, today was no game of hide and sneak, it was for real. Though how she would get
the children out of the pack in this awful weather she had no idea.

Alpha Nathan didn‟t have an eta, Jackson had said that he was dealing with Tony and
Lauren. Well, they could be very difficult and now that they knew he was the triplets‟
father she could only imagine that they were going to put on the parent act where she
was concerned.

Hopefully, they were so hard to deal with that he would be gone until the snow storm
passed and the streets had been cleared. She could then take her dad‟s car and head for
the Winter Moon Pack.

Hopefully, that would be her saving grace, but she had no idea when he was due back
or how long this storm would take to pass. She also didn‟t have her mobile phone with
her, to check the weather or even call anyone for help.

The drain pipe she was looking at was a good 10 feet away from the balcony‟s railing, a
much more difficult thing to get to than the one directly outside of her childhood home,
which had been right next to her window. She also had no idea if the thing was
completely secured to the building, She could only hope and pray that it was
maintained welL.

If they miscalculated the jump from the balcony, they would fall 5 stories to the ground.
It was not likely they would be unharmed by the fall, possibly even worse. They pushed
that thought from their minds, preparing for the jump. Jay-la moved one of the chairs
right up against the railing, so she could use it as a stepping stone onto the railing and
not lose momentum when launching themselves out over the 10-foot gap. In a bid to be
free.

Jay-la returned to the suite, closing the doors. She needed to warm up a bit first, seeing
as the climb or slide to the ground would be in her body, she needed to be able to feel
all her fingers and toes for as long as possible so they wouldn‟t just plumpet to the
ground from a great height. It wouldn‟t matter so much from the second floor, there
was plenty of snow falling.
It would surely be deep enough to help a short drop to the ground softening the
impact.

„We‟ll shift as soon as we‟re down‟, Kora stated.

„I know you will handle the cold a lot better than I will.‟

„We‟ll make the jump too.‟

„Yes we will‟ Jay-la relayed back to her, they had done plenty of agility and strength
training when they had been here in the pack and running around leaping from fallen
tree to fallen tree or rock to rock or leaping over other pack members, it was all good
for them.

Jay-la walked into the bathroom for a hot shower to really warm up her core body
temperature before their leap into the cold. She kept her hair dry and stood under the
running water, keeping it as hot as she could, and stood there until she was toasty
warm, then stepped out and dried herself on the fluffy towels that were laid out for use.
Not likely for her but just ready, as were many suites for company or honoured guests.

It was now or never.

She took a deep breath in, to prepare herself for the bracing cold frat she knew was out
there, then opened the doors, and took a few steps back into the room, to gain more
distance so she could really throw speed into her run. Kora pushed forward and lent Jay-
la her wolf speed and strength and they ran, stepped and then leaped out into the open
space between the balcony and the drain pipe. Her hands were stretched out towards it,
the pipe was very cold and a layer of ice coated it, she could not get a grip with her
human fingers.

Kora surged forward and her claws were out quickly. One hand had already slid off the
pipe. The other hands‟ claws were scrapping on the pipe, they squeezed with all their
might in an attempt to keep their grip.

Two claws punctured the pipe and the rest of her hand grabbed on to the pipe, she
swung dangerously close to losing her grip, used her feet to steady herself hooking one
of them onto the pipe and they took a shaky breath as they managed to bring up the
other hand and cling to the pipe. She could hear it creaking under her weight and felt it
start to give. They were too heavy. They were going to break it.

She turned her eyes towards the balcony in-case anyone had heard and was trying to
get to her. Nothing, they would have trouble getting in the room anyway. Finally, her
body stopped swaying and she placed the balls of her feet on either side of the drain
pipe and loosened her grip and they started to slide down. It was a much quicker slide
than she liked due to the ice that covered it.

Only slowed by the metal sheaths that anchored the pipe to the pack house walls, the
first one bit into her feet and she felt the sting of it cutting one of her feet. She had
hissed in pain, but endured it, trying to slow her descent.

Kora lent her some claws but this only seemed to weaken the pipes and they creaked
even more, and started to shudder. They were only passing the third floor when she
heard it tear away from the pack house, claws retracted instantly and her slide down
increased 5 fold, the skin on her fingers was being sheered off by the layer of ice, the
pipe ripped from the wall above her, she hit the next anchoring spot and prayed it
would hold, slipped down past it and was at the top of the second floor.

She watched with wide horror-filled eyes as the anchoring shattered, so brittle with the
cold, probably years old and never been replaced, her weight had been its breaking
point. The whole downpipe collapsed and she was free-falling to the ground. Kora
ripped out of her and shifted them in mid air, trying to save them. She was much more
suited to a fall than her humans‟ body.

She turned herself over somehow during the shift. The goddess must really be looking
out for them at this point. They landed in knee-deep snow, which softened their impact,
and she was able to stand up and shake the snow off of herself, with a huff,‟ Let‟s not do
that again‟ Jay-la agreed. The pipes fell around them and buried themselves into the
snow, the snow thankfully muted the noise. If it had been summertime, her escape
would have been noticed by many.

One of the pipes hit Kora on the back and she snarled in response as it bounced off of
her and into the snow. But they had made it, they were down from the Luna Suite, and
no longer freezing cold either, warm under Kora‟s thick silver coat.
„lets go.‟

Kora moved off in a slow manner, they did not want to attract attention to themselves,
they would have to be staying low to the ground and watch for night patrols, though
not many would be this close to the pack house, and most normal pack members would
be in their homes sleeping blissfully warm tucked up in their beds, not wandering out in
the snow fall.

It wasn‟t really a storm anymore, it seemed to have passed and was just faling in a
normal manner, the wind had appeared to have died off as well, which she was thankful
for. That would mean her scent wouldn‟t carry on the wind to any patrolling wolves out
there.

The Luna Suite was off the back of the pack house and as she made her way around it,
she kept herself low, hunkered down as best she could. Kora was much larger now and
hiding in the drift or even moving in something this shallow was no longer in her favour.
Long ago, this amount of snow would have been deep enough for her to hide in, creep
along unnoticed and unseen.

They moved along the side of the pack house and peered around to the front
cautiously. She could see by the front door Stephen and Ethan standing there, like they
were waiting on someone. He was coming, not far off in all likelihood. They wouldn‟t just
wait on anyone like that out in the snow and cold, it could only be the Alpha himself.

“No Beta,” Kora mused.

„probably still guarding the Luna Suite.‟ Jay-la thought back, slightly amused. He
thought he had her trapped, but come on, it was Jackson who had always helped her
sneak back into her parents‟ house. It appeared he had forgotten.

„More likely, he didn‟t think we‟d do a 5-story escape.‟ Kora chortled little do they know
us anymore.

They slipped back behind the side of the pack house and moved away, out towards the
edge of the forest, a risk of patrol seeing them but not of the Gamma and Delta. They
clearly weren‟t expecting her to be anywhere other than the Luna Suite.
Keeping low in the snow, they moved stealthily, belly crawling through the snow as they
were not interested in gaining either of those wolves‟ attentions. And setting off an alert
for all patrolling wolves or his Beta for that matter.

Kora‟s ears pricked up at the sound of cars approaching, she stilled knowing his hearing
and sight would be much more acute than his units. Hiding from him had always been
an issue, his wolf was not something she had ever been able to hide from, especially
once she and Nathan had started sleeping together.

It was like she was a magnet and he was drawn to it on instinct.

She Burrowed herself into the snow with just her eyes peering out as they had always
done when hiding, to watch for their on-coming wolves. Two cars pulled up behind the
packs snow-plow. She watched as his entire family piled out, including Rae-Rae. Her
heart skipped a beat. How was it she was here had Tony and Lauren caved in, or had he
simply gone and taken her for his brother, she wouldn‟t put it past him? Now-a-days.

He was standing there, his head tilted, smelling the air, fear slipped into her, „Havoc.‟
Kora confirmed, she whined a little inside Jay-la‟s mind, some part of her was tethered
to him and since he had tried to call to her that day over the phone a part of Kora
wanted nothing more than to go to him. There was no wind blowing in his direction, he
couldn‟t possibly smell them, right?

They were a good 500 metres away, even with his sight and smell there was no way he
could…his head turned slowly in her direction, scanning the area. Even as he moved on
towards the pack house, he was still scanning the area. There was no moon out tonight
and nothing to reflect their eyes to him, she prayed.

His father‟s eyes followed his son‟s but then touched him on the back and they all
redirected their attention to moving inside and out of the cold. She briefly wondered
how they were going to explain the noise of breaking into the Luna Suite to Rae-Rae,
but let it go, the girl would understand one day soon enough.

The moment the pack house door was closed, they moved off in a much quicker
manner. It wouldn‟t take him long to realise she wasn‟t locked in the suit and the hunt
would be on. Her children were on the other side of the pack with her father.
They had been heading for her children, but stopped halfway to her father‟s house. That
was the first place they would look. The second would likely be the pack hospital, where
her mother was, where could she go? She had no idea where Brad lived in the pack, he‟d
still been with her parents when she‟d left 6 years ago. Probably only moved out when
he met Victoria.

Now she had a dilemma; what to do and where to go. She had been hoping that he
would not be back until well into tomorrow or even the day after. Jackson surely knew
the man was on his way. The bastard had lied to her about his arrival on purpose.

She had come to rely on him earlier, thinking he was back to being her friend, wanting
to help her, but…he and Nathan were best friends, not to mention Jackson was the Beta,
and likely in-charge while Nathan, their Alpha, was off pack territory, the man could do
as he pleased, make up and say what ever he wanted to. And clearly he had. He‟d
tricked her, lulled her into a false sense of security.

The massive howl that ripped through the snow-filled night, brought Kora low. She laid
down in the snow, her ears flat against her heard, her tail curled around her, “He knows.”

Havoc was displeased and displaying it for all his pack to hear, She could well imagine
every pack member who was awake was currently doing as Kora was, submitting to their
Alpha‟s Howl. And those that had been asleep were waking up.

Then move Kora‟ Jay-la whispered at her urgently. Kora whined and whimpered, he was
howling for her and she knew it, every fibre in her being was screaming to answer him
„no, don‟t do it, Kora,‟ Jay-la begged her. Knowing it was going to be a losing battle.

Kora couldn‟t fight it anymore than any other wolf in pack territory. It was for her and
her alone and Jay-la knew it, because no other wolves were calling back to him. He was
going to use her howl to locate her direction and hunt her down.

Kora stood and lifted her head, no matter how much Jay-la begged her wolf, the mighty
howl that she let out, echoed through the pack, she could not defy him when he was
calling directly to her like that, when he was so close.

She answered his call with one of her own, a howl so loud, so full of longing, and a need
for her Alpha to recognise her and want her to be part of the pack once more, that it
hurt Jay-la‟s own ears. She wanted to answer him, had wanted to call to him since that
day in her office.

It was now truly a losing battle, his wolf Havoc would already be on his way. The
moment she had answered him he would have heard her wolf‟s needs and longing for
his approval, her desire to truly be part of his pack once more and he would be coming
for her. Nothing was going to get in his way.

Run Kora, for the love of the goddess RUN! Jay-la yelled at her and when Kora didn‟t
move, still standing there waiting for her Alpha to find her, „For our babies Kora,
please…‟ she begged, „I want to see them one more time before they are taken away
from us don‟t you.‟

That thought got Kora moving and she suddenly realized what she had done, sprinted
off of the mark and dashed through the snow with all her speed, away from where she
had been standing, heading towards her father‟s house, He wouldn‟t do anything to
them in front of the children. Surely he wasn‟t that cruel.

Chapter 33
Nathan POV

Stepping out of the car, Stephen and Ethan were waiting on the front steps to the pack
house for him. Apparently, there was nothing from the Luna Suite since she had calmed
down.

So, hopefully, when he opened the door everything would just fall into place, and they
could sit down and talk.

Nathan was under no illusions, he knew that she was not just going to throw herself at
him in a desperate need to have him, never going to happen. Though he had seen it
many times before, felt it once himself a very long time ago. The instant connection, the
driven need to latch onto your Mate and kiss the hell out of them, mark them and mate
them, it was intense to say the least.

Jay-la though, had been through a lot and he knew, no matter what, there was a lot of
stuff that needed to be sorted out and not just with him, but with his brother and his
sister with her as well. Waylaying her fears probably wasn‟t going to be just as easy as
her recognising him. Havoc had other plans, plans he knew Havoc was never letting him
get in the way of.

Havoc surged to the surface the minute the car door closed, taking in a deep breath,
„Kora, popped into Nathan‟s mind.

I know buddy, they are in the Luna Suite. We‟ll go directly there.

„No. I smell Kora here.

Jay-la has been here, wandered all over the pack, you can just smell her scent
everywhere‟ Nathan reassured him.

She had not been let out of the suite that much he did know.

Havoc turned his eyes towards the forest, searching along the tree line. Nathan saw
nothing, just snow, „Come on.

Let‟s go inside and get you your Mate. he tried to placate his wolf‟s increasing thoughts
that Kora was out in the woods.

He‟d always been able to track her, but Nathan knew where she was locked in the Luna
Suite, Jackson would be steadfastly doing guard duty as instructed not to leave her
alone. If she had gotten out, they would have told him right away.

He felt his father‟s hand on his shoulder and they moved off into the pack house.
“Micheal take Rae-Rae directly to her room. I have to sort out HavOc and Kora,” he told
his brother using their wolf‟s names so he would understand the meaning and its
importance.

“Yes Nathan,” he nodded and took his human Mate to the first floor where she would be
staying until he had explained to her what he was and what she had to go through to be
with him. Then he simply turned and headed for the elevator and headed to the Alpha
floor. He was actually nervous, he realised.
“It‟ll be fine son,” his father told him calmly, “just take it slow, no pouncing on her, like
you probably used to, huh”.

“Yeah!” though Havoc was steadfast in his faith that Kora would want him, he was not so
certain Jay-la wouldn‟t try to reject him on the spot, she was afraid of him, and that fear
was so ingrained into her it might out weigh her bond to him, he did not want nor
would accept a rejection from her but it would hurt just to even hear the words or even
see it in her eyes.

He stepped out of the elevator and his parents headed for their suite, which just left him
with his Alpha Unit.

He could feel them all staring at him. „go‟ havoc practically snarled at him „need Kora
now.

Jackson unlocked the door as he approached and went to push it open, frowned and
Nathan sighed internally, what now?

He got there and found it was weighted from the other side, she had barred the door
from her side. Goddess help me out a little. He rubbed his temples and shook his head,
leaned his weight on the door as did Jackson, it budged but not much. “Jay-la please
unbar the door:” he called through the slight gap, her wolf hearing would pick up his
voice no matter where in the suit she was.

His tone was light, held no anger or animosity, just his normal tone, no alpha in it either.

Havoc surged forward and shoved with all his strength Mate naughty‟ he chortled. He
really liked this side of her, he guessed. He seemed quite excited, too Nathan.

Apollo appeared next to him and the two of them used all their strength to shove
against the door and it finally slid open, the furniture pushing across the room, enough
to allow them to step through the door sideways. He stepped in through the gap, and
looked at the mess. Every single piece of furniture in this room was up against the door.
He shook his head and looked at Jackson.
Who simply shrugged, “I told you she was throwing a tantrum, I wasn‟t going to open
the door to see what sort.” He left Stephen and Ethan to move the furniture out of the
way to properly open the door for when he was ready to leave.

He turned and headed for the closed door to the bedroom, it was most likely where she
was, walked across to it and pushed it open. Nothing barred it, a bracing cold hit him
right in the face, she was not in the bed, where he was expecting her to be, there was
snow lying on the floor and the french doors to the balcony were open.

She wasn‟t that crazy insane, was she? They were 5 storeys up. He could still smell her
inside the room. Perhaps it was a trick. He turned and looked at the closed bathroom
door, and headed for it. He could smell her again, and opened the door. But they were
not there, the room was still warm and there was water droplets on the shower Screen.

„Kora, I smelled her outside‟ Havoc snarled at him.

“Here boss,” he turned to find Jackson standing by the end of the balcony, there was a
chair right in front of him. that sneaky brat, escaped down the drain pipe like old times.

Havoc was on the verge of ripping out of him, his anger boiling but directed at Nathan
himself for not listening to him when they had gotten home, he had smelled her, looked
directly into the woods and told him he could smell Kora.

Only Nathan hadn‟t listened because he was convinced she was in the Luna Suite.

He looked down the drain piping, and could see there were scratch marks on them, he
could see where it had peeled away from the wall and she would have fallen the last two
and a half stories to the ground. His annoyance at her stubbornness was rapidly turning
into anger. She was here locked in the Luna Suite to await him to let her out and yet she
had still taken it upon herself to defy him.

Havoc snorted „my turn now!‟

„Yes,‟ Nathan finally agreed, he was overplaying cat and mouse with his mate.
He felt Havoc pull forward and shift completely to his giant black wolf form, then he
howled into the night air, loud and full of his Alpha‟s authority, a call directly aimed at
Kora, a call she could not resist to answer.

He knew everyone in the pack would hear it, but only she would have the desperate
need to respond to him. He waited. Ears up, tail still, head slightly down as he focused
all his Alpha senses on being able to locate his mate when she called back to him.
Nothing was going to stop him from getting to his Mate now.

It didn‟t take long, less than 30 seconds, it was massive and brought his head whipping
up, it was filled with loneliness and need to be accepted, pain pulled at both of them
and he was gone, dashing with all the speed he had out of the, suite, down the hall and
the stairs, launched himself off the second floor hit the ground running and burst out
through the front door uncaring of the damage he would cause and into his pack
grounds.

His only thought was „Mate‟ Her call had come from the centre of the town, though he
had scented her off to the left of the pack house when they had gotten out of the car,
she had not stayed there. He was on the move, he followed his Alpha sense and tracked
the howl not he scent, he knew the minute he reached the spot she had howled from,
there was a deep hollow in the snow where Kora had laid down before responding to
him, and her scent was so very strong to him.

„Heading for pups.‟ Nathan told him without a doubt that was where she was going, he
could tell from where the pack house was to where they stood now. Jody‟s house.

Havoc didn‟t need to be told where to go, his nose was filled with Kora‟s scent, he was
off at a full run, he could get her before she got there, he was stronger and faster than
she was, though that howl she had produced had been as loud as his, almost like
listening to a female Alpha‟s howl.

He spotted her a few minutes late, running away from him at full speed. She was indeed
massive and faster than he had last seen her, Mine: he roared in a massive snarl that
nearly brought her wolf to a tumbling halt. His Wolfen Mate call could not be denied.

They watched as Kora stumbled and slid to a stop to turn and look at him. Havoc
however, did not stop at all, was still in full, hunt his mate, mode and nothing was going
to get in his way. Kora backed away slowly, her tail between her legs and head bowed
slightly, her eyes never left his wolf.

Havoc skidded to a stop right in front of her, his breathing heavy on her, then he bowed
his head down and he touched his head right to hers. It was soft and gentle, surprising
even Nathan. Havoc licked her snout and moved playfully to nip at her ear. He had
never seen Havoc do that before, not even with their last mate, his behaviour odd, to
Nathan.

He moved about her stilled body, rubbed himself against her and felt her lean into him,
sliding her head along his body, seemingly accepting him just like that. Just like Havoc
had said she would. He purred loudly at her acceptance and she purred right back.
Nathan felt relief sweep through him as he watched from inside Havoc‟s mind.

Then, to his complete shock, she bit the tip of his tail, flicked her tail right in his face and
ran off towards the woods, away from where her pups were. Havoc snorted and gave
chase Mate play with us.

Nathan could only hope it was playing. As his wolf chased after her, she wasn‟t running
full speed away from him, even Nathan got the feeling she was taunting his wolf,
playing with Havoc. She had answered his call with a need to be accepted, and accepted
she had been.

Gifted Havoc himself as her Mate, he would never leave her. It appeared Havoc‟s faith in
Kora was right on the mark. Nathan got to watch as the two of them ran around in the
snowy forest. Kora allowed herself to be pounced on many times only to throw him off
and run away again.

Nathan left his wolf alone, to bond with his Mate.

He had no idea what Jay-la herself thought about everything that was going on
between their wolves. He could well ask her through the mind-link, but did not want to
force his thoughts on her at this point. She already knew they were Mates now, so when
Havoc and Kora shifted back.
She would be face to face with him, he must remind Havoc that they would be naked
upon shifting back and return them to the pack house or to Jody‟s before relinquishing
control due to how cold it was going to be.

Jay-la had not attempted to use the mind-link to talk to him either. He knew she could,
but was currently choosing not to. She was probably not ready to talk to him.

Havoc mated Kora several times as they ran about playing with each other. She had
easily submitted to him, hadn‟t even fought against it the slightest, it seemed Kora was
happy with her goddess gifted Mate, that was his wolf Havoc. Nathan wondered if she
accepted him so readily because they had pups already together or if she was just
happy to have a Mate at all. Most wolves find their Mates early in life; females usually by
the time they are 19, and she was 26. That is a long wait for a Mate. Even most male
wolves would find their Mates by that age, only rarely did they have to wait.

Havoc was currently lying down next to Kora in the snow, his head resting on her
shoulder. She appeared to be sleeping. Havoc, was not. He was lying there listening to
his Mate‟s heart rate, and breathing, taking in her scent and generally just enjoying
being in her presence.

„Havoc?‟

Told you she would accept me.‟ he snorted, showing his human counterpart that he had
been right all along. His tone was very superior.

lts late Havoc, we need to get them back to the pack house, I need to talk with Jay-
la.you know that „You‟ll not ruin it. he half growled at Nathan. I certainly will try not to, if
you think l am, come forward and appeal to Kora‟s nature.‟

Havoc huffed, stood up and nudged his Mate Kora. She turned her head and looked up
at him. They couldn‟t actually mind speak to each other until Nathan and Jay-la mark
and mate each other. He could see why his wolf was worried. He too had no idea what
was going to happen the minute Jay-la appeared and Kora was gone.

He nudged her again and she seemed to get the message, walked along beside him as
they headed in the direction of the pack house. Havoc playfully nudged her on the way
and let her nudge him back. They had this playful nature all the way back, he even
allowed her to pounce on him at one point and sit right on him for a few seconds
before she ran off and he would chase her. The pack house came into view and he could
see Jackson standing there with, to his surprise, Ethan‟s little sister Margaret clinging to
his side all loved up and staring at him like he everything.

He guessed the girl was back from vacation with her parents, she would have turned 18
while away, finally found his mate. It was pretty obvious from her hanging off of him,
Jackson had an arm around her and was holding her to his side. That was a relief-to him.

Jackson was watching the two wolves as they approached the pack house. It wasn‟t
normal to walk into the pack house still in wolf form, but he was not going to have Jay-
la exposed out here in the cold.

Chapter 34
Jay-la POV

Kora nearly stumbled over her own feet as a Mate call was unleashed upon her, loud
and aggressive, something that could not be ignored. She skidded to a stop and turned
to see who it was.

Havoc was running straight at her, he had not stopped as Kora had, Mate, she
whispered, backing up slowly as he came straight at her.

No: Jay-la could not believe it, this couldn‟t be right, she had seen this wolfs human with
her own two eyes, been no more than a meter away from him, only a desk between
herself and Havoc‟s human counterpart. She didn‟t believe it. But she knew it to be true.
Kora knew it was true.

Havoc stopped right in front of them, he smelled so good, like the smell of rain just
before it fell, with a hint of oak and cinnamon.

He was her mate. But why hadn‟t she know it then, but knew it now?

„Kora be careful he will mate you.‟ Jay-la murmured to her wolf, though she already
knew Kora was going to let him, for weeks now she‟d had this lingering feeling of Havoc
in her mind, and that howl she had let out tonight, had told him she was lonely and
didn‟t want to be apart from the pack anymore, she wanted to come home.

Kora would not reject the father of their pups, not now. He was her goddess-gifted
Mate.

Havoc‟s behaviour towards Kora surprised Jay-la, although he had come racing after her
and she fully expected him to just aggressively mate the hell out of her wolf on the spot,
he didn‟t. He was being gentle with her, a little playful and quite loving. He purred at
Kora, and she purred right back.

„Well, now what do we do?‟

„Play‟ Kora piped up and suddenly bit the end of Havoc‟s tail, then hit him in the face
with her tail and ran off, though Jay-la knew she was not running to get away, she was
running to have hlm chase her. It was what wolves did when mating, playing with each
other.

There was no stopping it, Kora was not about to give up control even if Jay-la asked her
to0. So she didn‟t just stayed in the back of Kora‟s mind quiet and let her be with her
Mate.

She had no idea how she was going to deal with his human counterpart, or even what
Nathan thought this very minute, didn‟t want to know, needed time to try and process
everything. Nothing made sense to her at the moment. Shouldn‟t she have been able to
scent him out when in his office? Or he her, for that matter, he must be as shocked as
she was.

The only good thing she guessed was that Havoc was never going to let him hurt her, or
punish her, so there was some safety in that. She would have to wait and see. It
appeared he either had no control of Havoc at all or he was just allowing them to bond
and mate as she was. Jay-la had no idea, was too confused at this point.

She sighed, Kora and Havoc ran about playing and mating each other many times. Kora
was so happy, Jay-la didn‟t think she had ever felt her this happy, right this minute she
was running at will through her own pack, with her Mate, knowing her pups were safely
tucked up in their beds.
Havoc was her Mate.

Jay-la‟s train of thought suddenly changed. If Nathan was her Mate, that would make
her.. the future Luna.

Her mind moved to being here in the pack today. She‟d been placed in the Luna Suite.
Jackson had asked her if she‟d rather he put her in the Alpha‟s Suite? That couldn‟t be a
coincidence. Surely not. Had stated Nathan would kill him if he‟d put her in his bed,
Jackson had even joked about Nathan wanting to punish her in the fun way. That
bastard knew, oh he was going to die.

They all knew she suddenly realised, which meant Nathan also knew and had informed
all of them, but why had he not told her that day, something else was going on, maybe
he didn‟t want her? That one thought brought pain to her heart, she had to stop
thinking about it, focused on nothing. Just sat back there in Kora‟s mind and watched
them and tried desperately to keep her fears at bay.

She had no idea of how long Kora and Havoc played and mated, just that at some point
she could see the pack house coming into view, the show-down she had been dreading
was coming, at least it wasn‟t going to be done with her children around. Did she even
want to talk to him right now? She didn‟t know.

„He‟s your Mate, he will not hurt you Jay-la‟ Kora piped up, speaking to her for the first
time since finding out Havoc was her mate.

He was so angry, Kora. You didn‟t see it. she sighed.

„Maybe you misunderstood it. Havoc wants us, trust in him.

Havoc strolled right into the pack house and, to her surprise, so did Kora. Wolves didn‟t
usually come into the pack house, shifted outside, then came in. They were headed for
the alpha‟s office. She shivered as she recalled the last time she was in there. „It‟ll be
okay‟, Kora said softly.

She watched as Jackson opened the door and stood aside while Havoc strolled into the
office withouta care in the world. Kora followed him, he was her Mate and she was
going wherever he went.
She heard the door close behind her and heard him shift „wait,‟ she begged Kora, she
wasn‟t ready.

Didn‟t even know if she could do this. A large part of her was filled with fear and wanted
to run, right out of this office, she could feel Kora‟s resistance to the thought she was
having.

He was standing in front of her now, completely naked, watching her wolf. She had not
shifted as he had done, he had probably expected her to, she realised.

Kora was happy to look at his naked body, her head tilted as she assessed him
completely from head to toe, he chuckled at her wolf.

Then he walked over to her and hunkered down „How about I put some clothes on, huh‟
he smiled right at her and ran his hands over her head and scratched behind her ears for
a minute, making Kora purr. You got bigger I see‟ his tone was light and playful „But still
very pretty a hint of seductiveness could be heard in his ton.

He winked right at her, then stood and walked off. She turned and watched him „I might
just eat him myself,‟ she murmured to Jay-la playfully. „See he is not mad at us.‟

Jay-la sighed, he‟d didn‟t appear mad, but she could only recall the last time she‟d seen
him. Kora had not been with her, she hadn‟t seen it. Couldn‟t understand what she had
felt or seen that day.

He was back wearing jeans and a tee-shirt, „Kora, I left the door to the bathroom open,
why don‟t you go in and shift, I would like to see…. my Mate his voice soft and gentle,
nothing in it that made Kora think she couldn‟t trust him, she turned and headed off to
do as he said.

She shifted the minute she was in the bathroom. Jay-la closed the door to keep him out.
She was naked and needed a minute still.

Things were not going as she thought they would.

There was a shirt in the room, it was his. He‟d always been taller than her, a good foot
taller. The shirt would cover her completely but she would still be naked under it. She
pulled it on, there was nothing else, it smelled like him. She had once loved walking
around in his room in his shirts. If he tried to forcibly mark and mate her, there wasn‟t
much to go through. And he would be much stronger physically. She bit her lip.

Stop that he is not going to, did Havoc?” Kora sounded annoyed now.

„No, but.‟

„No buts. I will make you go out there.‟ Kora was warning he not to do anything to ruin
her and Havoc‟s bond.

Jay-la looked at her appearance in the mirror, washed her face, she was less than ready
for this meeting, her hair she smoothed out as best she could, but really that was all she
could do. At least it was warm in here. The entire pack house, as did the majority of
homes, had heated flooring, to help with wintertime.

She could feel Kora starting to get impatient, and sighed I‟m going already!‟ she
muttered to her wolf, then turned and stepped out of the bathroom to finally face him.
Her heart was hammering in her chest, unfortunately not from pure excitement of the
Mate Bond.

He was standing over by the couch, he had lit the fireplace. Had she been in the
bathroom that long? Or was he just used to doing it, and could do it with ease. He was
watching her every move, she noted he looked a bit on the tense side. Maybe he didn‟t
know what to expect either. She didn‟t say anything, didn‟t know what to say to be
honest. Just kind of stood there and watched him wearily from near the door to his
office.

“Come in,‟ he said, “please sit, we need to talk I believe” he was gesturing to the couch
by the fireplace.

She looked at the door and wondered if Jackson would still be standing on the other
side of it. She heard him sigh heavily.

“Jay-la please, I know things aren‟t great right now, but I know you don‟t understand
everything that‟s going on either. Please sit.. am not going to touch you, will never hurt
you. l assure you, you are safe in this room with me.”
Her eyes moved back to him, met his blue ones for maybe five seconds and fell away,
she knew what he was to her right this minute, knew what he had been to her all those
years ago, and how he‟d felt about her the day he‟d made her leave. But none of that
actually comforted her right this minute. All she could think about was the last time she
had been in this office, his anger towards her.

She caught movement in her peripheral vision and shot her eyes to him. He‟d taken a
step towards her, she backed up, a hand reaching for the door handle she knew was
back there somewhere.

Watched him stop moving and look at her hand, heard him swear softly.

“Please don‟t run” he sighed, “It hurts every time you run away from me”

That‟s rich, she thought, considering he was the one to tell her to leave and never come
back, how could it hurt him? It certainly hadn‟t the day he had ordered her to, it had
only hurt her. She could feel tears brimming at the reminder of the pain she had felt that
day.

“You don‟t know what pain is.” she shot at him a little angry.

“Yes I do, Jay-la. Believe me. l do.”

“No you don‟t. I lost everything that day. My family, my friends, my pack, the man..” she
stopped speaking and shook her head.

“What did you lose that day? Nothing is what.”

“I lost one of my closest best friends that day, Jay-la. Because I acted on an impulse,
without thinking is all. I am sorry for that, I really am.”

“There is only one reason you‟re sorry, beg my pardon, three reasons you‟re sorry the
sarcasm came out of her with every word, he was only sorry because she had been
pregnant, because they now share pups.
“That is not true, I didn‟t even know about them when I was trying to get you to come
home” he ran his hands through his hair and sighed, “| know this is all screwed up, but
we can fix it.”

“We?” she raised an eyebrow at him. “That implies”

He cut her off in a rush. “Don‟t Jay-la” he was shaking his head. “Please don‟t reject me”
his hands were out in front of him, “Just give me a chance to explain, I can explain. All of
it, I promise.”

Jay-la stared at him, he actually looked like he was pleading with her. She stared at him
for a long minute, “Did you order Abbey to hurt my mother?” changing topic was better
than him trying to convince her to stay at this point. She needed time to think about
everything.

“No, and she is going to be severely punished first thing this morning. I was extremely
pissed off when I heard what she had done.

“How can you let her just go about and hurt people in the pack, how is it she thinks it is
okay?” Jay-la asked.

“I had no knowledge of what had happened here. Actually, it happened while I was
unconscious due to wolfs-bane injected into me. The Alpha unit can attest to that. None
of them had any knowledge of it. I assure you I would never allow that. What Abbey did,
going to your parents and convincing them to allow her to attack your mother in a bid
to get you to come here, was nothing I would ever approve of”

“Wh…What?” Did she hear that right? Her mother and father allowed it. No, she must
not have heard right “1 don‟t understand.

Did you just say they did this to me? Made me feel like that” she shook her head, no.
No, they would never.

“sh!t! I‟m sorry, I thought you knew you did attack Abbey. I just assumed you knew. Oh
jay-la, I would never have told you like that, I‟m so sorry,” he stepped towards her
quickly.
Jay-la held up a hand to stop him. Why would they do that to me? Her eyes moved past
him around the room and looked at the clock on the wall, nearly 5am, then moved back
to him. He was standing no more than a meter away could probably reach out and
touch him if she wanted to. But this was too much. She had to go and talk with her
father. It couldn‟t be, she didn‟t believe it.

She spun on her heal and yanked the office door open, brushed past Jackson who had
been there the whole time, “No, no, no. I don‟t believe you.‟ she was saying as she
headed for the front door.

“Jay-la wait.” he called after her, she could hear him following her and right this minute
didn‟t care.

His hand wrapped around her arm to halt her, and she reacted on instinct, spun around
and slapped him right in the face. His head whipped back, his blue eyes went wide with
shock and he let go of her arm, just stared at her.

“Don‟t you dare stop me”„ she grated out angrily, she didn‟t even know who she was
angry with at this moment, him? Her father? Her mother? Her brother? Abbey? Herself
even? She was just angry. How could anyone do something like that?

She stalked out of the pack house and headed directly for her family home. She would
find out the truth from her father himself.

She banged into the house, her family home. She knew he was up could hear him with
her wolf hearing. He was in the kitchen. She glanced up the stairs, turned her head and
listened her children were all still sleeping. She stalked her way through the house
towards where she knew he was preparing breakfast. Her feet were completely numb
from the cold, but she just didn‟t care at this point.

Jay-la also knew that the Alpha was following her, as was Jackson, either one of them
could have given her father the heads up she supposed, probably had. She didn‟t care,
even Kora was angry along with her now. She too, could not understand why they would
put them through that much pain and grief and for what to just get her to come home.
Hell Nathan could have done that simply by walking into a room with her. That twitched
her brain a little… she pushed it aside, shook her head as if to clear it and refocused on
getting answers from her father.

He turned to look at her, a smile already on his face, it was gone in an instant. “Baby girl,
what is wrong?” he asked.

She pointed a shaking finger at him as she strode right up to him. “Did you do it? Did
you allow mum to be injured just to get me home, for him?” she grated out the last two
words. She knew they were standing behind her, could smell them both. He more so,
being that he was her Mate.

She watched his eyes move past her to his Alpha and Beta. Then back to her, “Baby girl,
please understand…‟

She cut him off with a s***h of her hand. It was all she needed to know. “I trusted you
and you let Abbey shoot mum up with a lethal dose of wolfs-bane, are you insane?” she
screamed at him.

“Well actually…” he rubbed his hands over his face “I was the one who hit her with the
wolfs-bane. I couldn‟t let anyone else do it.

Ivy and your mother wouldn‟t either, they only trusted me to make sure it wasn‟t a lethal
dose but close to it”

Jay-la couldn‟t believe what she was hearing, it was true they were in on it. They did this
to them, she had nearly completely lost herself in her grief over all that was going on
and they did this to her on purpose. She stood staring at him, anger was rolling off of
her, she heard Kora snarl in displeasure at what they had gone through. Saw him back
up a step.

“I‟m sorry baby girl, we just wanted you to come home,” he pleaded with her. “and
honestly, I didn‟t think you were ever going to. Abbey told us the Alpha was your mate.
Neither of us believed her. You‟d known each other before, how was it possible? She
explained you were here on pack territory and that‟s how he knew. It took some
convincing, but eventually we believed her, but Bradley was useless at convincing you.
So it was put forward by Abbey that if Vera was actually injured, seriously, you would
sense it yourself and then we would be able to get you to come here.”

Jay-la just stood there and stared at him, they were all in on it, she couldn‟t believe it,
and she had left him here with her triplets, trusted him with her children, hugged him
and cried all over him with so much joy at seeing him, being with him and now to feel so
betrayed by him.

Hurt and it wasn‟t just her that hurt. Kora was hurt by them, and her emotional distress
had affected her children too. Her fists balled by her sides in anger as she stared at him
in disbelief. She really wanted to lash out at him, give him a good beating as she had
done Abbey, but her children were up stairs, if she started a fight with him they would
hear it and get scared.

She felt a hand touch her gently on the shoulder, knew it was the Alpha and growled at
his touch, she was not wanting his hands on her right now, she knew what he was trying
to do, a mates‟ scent, a mates‟ touch could help calm you down. She had yet to accept
him so it would not work to the extent he thought it would, couldn‟t without her
wanting it too, she supposed. He‟d have more luck sending his Gamma her way.

His hand slid down to the small of her back to stroke her in gentle circles. ” Jay-la let‟s
not fight here, the pups are up stairs.” He spoke to her softly, soothingly. She had seen
her father do this to her mother on many occasions to help calm her down.

Oh, she just wanted to punch him right in his handsome face, break a bone or two, she
knew where her children were. Her green eyes turned on his blue ones. “If you want to
keep that hand, I would remove it” she growled at him. Kora may want her mate, may
want Jay-la to accept Nathan, but that didn‟t mean she couldn‟t break something in the
mean time.

Kora was also angry about the situation going on around them.

She would not likely hurt her Mate but she would likely allow Jay-la to throw a punch
here or their if she thought it would not hurt her and Havoc‟s bond in anyway.

Their goddess-given bond was sacred, Jay-la knew it, Kora knew that Jay-la believed in
fated mates and that she would not do anything to hurt Kora herself, so some leeway
would be given to her with their so-called Mate at certain times, like right this minute,
she didn‟t want to calm down, so him trying to use the bond on her was annoying more
then calming.

His hand fell away from her, she had already proven she would hit him one, had done so
already, she was actually a little surprised to see that he took the hit and didn‟t go all
alpha mad on her.

Havoc pushed forward all of a sudden and stared right at her.

Whether he was warning her or trying to get to Kora she couldn‟t tell, he didn‟t seem
angry, just physically showing himself. Kora suddenly surged forward and Jay-la was
shoved back, ah that was it, she felt herself being moved by Kora into Havoc‟s waiting
arms. That bastard knew he could calm her wolf and it was working. She practically
melted into him. Burying her face into his neck and breathing him in.

What the hell happened to my feisty wolf?‟ she muttered to Kora.

„Our Mate bond is strong, and we needed to calm down or a fight with dad or Alpha
would have ensued!

Jay-la sighed just great, „l don‟t want to wake up in his bed Kora, do you understand
me.‟

Kora chortled at her I would never: but there was pure mischief in her voice.

For the love of the goddess, Jay-la face palmed herself in Kora‟s mind, which only made
Kora giggle out loud for all to hear. „untangle yourself and give me back my body,‟ Jay-
la muttered.

She did relinquish her body back but did not untangle herself. And she found herself
standing in his arms, her face still buried in his neck, she pushed hard at his chest to get
out of his arms. A growl came from him and when she looked up it was still Havoc.

“Let go, Havoc,” she stated firmly.

“Mine,” he stated gruffly back.

“Kora is yours,” she confirmed to him.

A large hand was all of a sudden on her face making her look directly into his eyes, half
blue, half green “Kora is mine.. you are mine… Accept me, then he turned her head and
slid his nose all the way down her neck right to where he would bite her, to mark her,
claim her for himself, leave that pretty silver filigree on the crook of her neck for all to
see.

Jay-la blinked at his actions, completely shocked, and wondered if it was he or Nathan
who made that statement, or were they actually both talking at the same time. She
wasn‟t game to state

No at this point. She had the distinct feeling that if she tried to in any way shape or
form, decline him he would mark her whether she like it or not. But if she said yes,
goddess, he was going to mark her too.
There was no way to answer him without his fangs plunging into her neck.
He was challenging her to defy him, and demanding her to say yes at the same time, she
could feel his mouth on her neck, goddess her skin was on fire from where his mouth
moved in soft kisses on her mark spot, it was getting to be to much, she had to pull
away or she was going to let him mark her whether she was ready or not whether she
wanted it or not she could hear Kora purring inside of her, she wanted this more than
anything. Jay-la knew if he marked her Kora would push forward and mark him back.
Damned wolves and their need to mark and mate each other.

All of a sudden she was shoved away and Nathan was staggering backwards, “I‟m sorry
Jay-la, Havoc was a little out of control.”

Her hand was already touching her mark spot, it was soft and hot, and shot bolts of
lightning through her own fingertips when she stroked it, he had not punctured the skin,
but he had certainly left a mark on her, that was for sure. A love bite for all to see. The
skin was too sensitive for there not to be. Kora huffed, annoyed at the lack of being
marked by her mate. She was also annoyed with Nathan for stopping Havoc from
uniting them.

Chapter 35
Nathan POV
Trying to rein in Havoc why he was trying to Mark Jay-la was not an easy feat, it had
taken all his willpower to fight his own beast, his own natural instincts for that matter, he
wanted to mark her, and with Havoc in full control and his mouth on her mark spot a
part of Nathan had wanted Havoc to do it, take the blame for it, but Nathan knew he
couldn‟t allow it to happen this way, their wolves were already mated, it wasn‟t like she
was going to rip Kora from Havoc.

She had said as much, Kora was his. So it was just a matter of time before she herself
came around to the full sway of their goddess-gifted Mate Bond. He was staring at her,
watching her now. Havoc was practically rolling around in his mind, amused with the
situation he had created.

That bastard was playing games with their mate, Nathan suddenly realised.

You can‟t do that to her. he muttered to Havoc.

Why look at her, all flushed and hot and bothered.

Nathan‟s eyes moved to his Mate, she was indeed flushed and he could smell her
arousal in the air, faint. But there, she was standing there staring at him, her breathing
was heavy, her pupils were dilated and her heart rate was accelerated, but it was the way
she was touching her mark spot that got his undivided attention, her index finger was
running along it in slow stokes, he was hard pressed not to smile at her, at her reaction
to his wolf nearly marking her, perhaps Havoc had nearly swayed her.

He knew what it felt like when your mate touched you, feeling like your skin was all
electrified, with bolts of pleasure wherever they touched you, and the more aroused you
became the more intense the sensation was. She hadn‟t said anything to his apology for
Havoc‟s behaviour and was simply staring at him.

Havoc had marked her with a love bite, nothing more but it looked good on her,
goddess he wanted to just walk over there and pick up where his wolf had left off. Do it‟
Havoc ur*ged him playfully.

Nathan took a step back and allowed both he and her some space. “Jay-la, please stop
doing that,” he asked after a minute passed and her hand was still on her mark spot, the
scent of her arousal was driving him nuts. If she continued to enjoy the feel of her mark
spot he would not be able to stop himself from actually marking her fully.

She seemed to blink back into reality and her hand snapped away from her neck, she
shook her head but did not apologise to him. “you need to contain your wolf.” was all
she said on the subject. Her voice was soft, not a hint of anger in it at all, her arousal
seemed to have removed her anger at the current situation.

Her head tilted slightly and he could tell she was listening to something. He tuned into
the surroundings and could hear the children were awake upstairs.

“Jay-la, what do you want to do?” he asked, referring to the fact that his children were
about to come face to face with him for the first time.

“Out” she suddenly snapped to attention, then hurried over to him and grabbed him by
the arm, dragging him to the back door, and shoving him outside, he just let her,
completely surprised by the fact that she was willingly touching him.

“I haven‟t told them about you yet. I need to do that before they see you.”

“Well actually…”

Jackson interrupted him “Lets go boss, We can get you showered and cleaned up and
Jay-la can talk to them over breakfast.”

“I didn‟t agree with that,” she snapped at him.

“Jay-la, I would like a proper introduction, today please.”

Nathan told her as Jackson was pushing him away from her, away from his mate and his
pups. He didn‟t much like it but she had said she wanted to tell them about him first, so
okay, let‟s give her the chance.

Their happy chirpy voices were so loud they must be in the kitchen with Jody by now, it
was no wonder Jackson was pushing him away.
“Jayla, if you don‟t want to stay here, after this morning‟s event unfolded, you and the
children can use the Luna Suite.”

He said before turning and leaving.

He walked in silence for a bit, Havoc was settled in his mind, calm and happy in the
knowledge that Jay-la was going to be easily marked at some point, it was just a matter
of seduction. You remember how to do that right? Havoc shot at him.

Yes Havoc, he shot back. what is with your sudden attitude change where Kora and Jay-
la are concerned?

Havoc snorted at him she‟s my mate, I want to play with her like we used to, but more
fun now.

„You were never like this last time you were mated,‟ Nathan Commented.

Kora‟s different, more fun, mischievous even.

Nathan shook his head and left Havoc to his own thoughts.

He could not figure him out. It was like all of a sudden he was a completely different
wolf. How many personalities does his wolf have?

Just one.‟ Havoc snarled at him, clearly following Nathan‟s thoughts „just happy now. he
stated.

“So that was interesting, Havoc nearly marking what is yours?” Jackson interrupted his
thoughts.

“He apparently wasn‟t going to, just playing with her.”

“Didn‟t look like it, from where I was standing. Jody looked nonplussed about it either.”

“I didn‟t think so either. And I don‟t particularly care what Jody thought after what he
did to her, sent her distress levels way off the charts, bl00dy stup!d all of them,” he
scratched the back of his neck, then rubbed his eyes. He was actually tired, but the sun
was up and he had been awake all night, so what could he expect? “Do you think she
will tell them?”

“Who knows, but she can‟t run away now.” he laughed” Kora is smitten by Havoc. That
much was clear. She‟ll never allow Jay-la to leave. Il can presume from the way he
strolled her into the pack house and Kora‟s response this morning in the kitchen, she
and Havoc Mated yes.”

Nathan laughed “Yes, many times, she didn‟t even so much as argue about it, not one
fight, nothing.”

“Then I guess Havoc‟s faith in Kora wasn‟t blind, he was totally sure that she would
accept him right away, and she did.” Jackson half laughed.

Nathan nodded he‟d had doubts about it, but Havoc had never doubted Kora‟s ability to
want him as her mate. He was never letting her go now, that was for sure. He was
curious to see how she would react to him half shifted or in a rage. But that was a future
problem.

“By the way, I got a link from Ethan” he chuckled, completely amused by something,
cleared his throat and continued “Abbey is in your office with Johnny waiting for her
punishment.”

Nathan had actually forgotten about that for the moment with all that was going on.
Should he wait to punish her with Jay-la there? so she could see he meant it, when he
said he would punish her.

“You and Margaret, hey?” Nathan smiled at him and jabbed an elbow into his side.

Jackson grinned at him, “So it seems,”

“Ethan know yet?”

“Probably she went running up the stairs yelling for her mum, all excited, when I headed
off after you and Jay-la.”
“He‟s going to pound on you, drill you about being faithful and not womanising
around.”

“Please, like I would hurt my mate like that, she‟s freaking hot, with that red curly hair to
her wa!st and that curvy figure, Va-va-voom. She is perfect in all the right ways.”

Nathan laughed out loud, “yeah talk like that about his little sister and see what
happens.”

Jackson grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at Nathan “Oh lord you‟re going to, aren‟t
you?”

You know it boss, got to cause mischief, he was laughing to now, “it‟s why Jay-la andl
get along better than any of you and her. We‟re both mischief makers.

Nathan couldn‟t argue on that one, but he would be able to argue about her and
Jackson having a better rel ationship than he and Jay-la once he had Marked and Mated
her, they would be closer than anyone.

He mind-linked Jay-la for the first time in 6 long years, Jay-la, I have Abbey in my office,
did you want to be there for her punishment?

He knew she heard him, could sense down the link that the connection was intact and
quite strong, probably due to them being Mates.

Probably not a good idea to put me or Kora in a room with her. she simply answered
back You are the Alpha, punish how you see fit.

He frowned at her words You are the Luna, do you want a say, in it? he asked, trying to
keep cheekiness out of his voice. And just reminding her she was to be his Luna.

No. she answered and severed the link.

He frowned, was that a no to him calling her the Luna, or a no to her having a say in it.
He thought it had to be the later, or he would be feeling like crap right now, and he was
pretty darn certain Havoc would bu*rst out of him and run right back there and Mark
her against her will, whether their pups were in the room or not.
He strolled into his office, Ethan‟s eyes locked right on to Jackson, who smiled right back
at him, “Morning Ethan, have a nice family breakfast did we? Get some good news?” his
tone was all smooth as silk, and there was an amused twinkle in his grey eyes.

Ethan said nothing, just narrowed his eyes at him for a minute, then turned to Nathan,
“Abbey, as expected boss.”

Nathan locked eyes right on her, saw her swallow hard, she was healed, he noted from
her wounds that Jay-la and Kora had inflicted upon her yesterday. Why Johnny was here
he had no idea. He had not requested him to come to this meeting.

He walked over and sat behind his desk, just stared at Abbey fora solid minute, he
watched her start to get fidgety and restless, she was uncomfortable in his presence,
that was for certain. He watched Johnny reach out and put a hand on her to comfort
her.

“Abbey, what you did was reckless and unacceptable, I have every right to banish you
from this pack for attacking another pack member..without due cause.”

“wh, what…you can‟t do that.” she stuttered.

“As the Alpha, I can do what I please, I can punish as I see fit.” he used Jay-la‟s words.

“Mum and dad would never let you.” she snapped at him, her Alpha aura shooting out
of her and directly at him.

“Where are they? They know you were brought here to be punished. I don‟t see them
here to defend your actions, do you?” he stated flatly, ignoring her aura. She might be
pushing it at him, but she was also scared right this minute, she could not overpower
him in anyway and he knew it. He was also a little surprised that neither of his parents
were there this morning.

He watched as Johnny turned pale, Jackson looked more than shocked by Nathan‟s
comments. As did Ethan.

“You, Abbey, blatantly with no regard for your own safety, your unborn child‟s safety or
the safety of other pack members,” he indicated to her mate. Who he knew had, had to
come to her defence and ended up wounded because of her actions, “need to learn a
lesson about respect.”

“I was just trying to get her here for you,” she yelled at him, getting angry now.

“Hmm were you. Or were you just so power-crazed that you thought you could get
away with anything?”

“They will never let you banish me, I‟m pregnant,” she stated flatly.

“So, even now you believe you are above your Alpha, and are UN-punishable?
Interesting Abbey,” he nodded. “but you are right on one thing. I will not banish my
pregnant sister… I will, however, DE-rank you.”

There were several gasps heard throughout the room.

Abbey shot to her feet and glared at him. “I dare you to try it,” she screamed at him.

Nathan stood from his chair and stared down at his sister, his full Alpha aura on display,
he felt Havoc push forward to aid in asserting his power over his sister, and blasted her
with all his Alpha Aura, “I Alpha Nathan Browning of the Bl00d Moon Pack. Officially
str!p you Abbey Browning of Bl00d Moon Pack of your Alpha title and reduce you to
that of Rank Warrior. No longer will you be above anyone in this pack. To do as you so
please. You will answer to me for every insubordinate action”.

He watched as she staggered backwards and fell to her knees. She clearly had not
believed he could do it, let alone would do it. Tears were pouring from her eyes, he
knew it hurt to be de-ranked, but she must learn she can not do as she pleased, that
there are repercussions to her actions.

“How could you?” she cried up at him.

“How many times Abbey did mum and dad blip over your blatant insubordination and
reckless actions, I will not be like that. You brought this on yourself.”

Johnny was trying to pick her up off the floor but she wasn‟t getting up. He watched her
eyes glaze over, knew she was calling for back up, looking for help from her parents.
Would they he had no idea, but they knew he had been displeased and was going to
punish her, they just didn‟t know how.

“It‟s no wonder she runs away from you.” Abbey shot at him angrily. “you‟re so cruel.”

“Do you really want to push your luck Abbey? I can make you an omega if you like,” he
grated out.

She gasped at him, he saw the horrified look she was giving him.

“Get her out of my sight Johnny,” he told her Mate.

Johnny helped her up, she reached for him to carry her, but his injury, still not healed,
wouldn‟t allow him to. Nathan glanced at Jackson. ” Help your brother out, would you?”

He simply nodded and walked over and picked Abbey up and walked out of the room
with her still crying. It would have hurt but not so much that she would still be crying
about it. The tears were because she couldn‟t believe he had actually punished her, his
wayward sister had never been truly punished ever, a slap on the wrist here or there, but
not actually punished formally. This was a great shock to her. She had suddenly realised
she did have to answer for her actions and she simply didn‟t like it.

One down, he thought and sat and waited. It didn‟t take long for his father to come into
his office, no mother, that was curious. She was always Abbey‟s biggest defender. “really
son to a warrior.”

Yes, she will learn she does have to answer to people, now she has to answer to Delta,
Gamma and Beta bl00ds as well as Alpha‟s. So much for answering to no one.

His father shook his head, but that was it. Sat in the chair in front of Nathan‟s desk
“How‟d it go with Kora and Jay-la?”

Nathan raised an eyebrow at his phrasing of the question.

“Oh come on Son, Havoc was on the hunt, we all heard his call and Kora‟s back, he was
off to get his mate, did he?”
“Yes,” Nathan nodded. “Jay-la needs more time.”

“Then give it to her.”

“l intend, too.”

“Now, just for some clarification, “Havoc did Mate Kora yes.

“Yes, father, why?”

“Just making sure she‟s not gonna go running off on you again, her wolf, your wolf
mating means neither of them would let it happen.”

Nathan agreed with that.

How he was going to deal with Jody and Vera he did not yet know. He was extremely
unhappy with what they had done to get their daughter back here. They did not know
of her current emotional state and probably didn‟t think it would affect her so much, but
it had affected her, so much distress had poured out of her. She had actually not been
able to cope. He would have hated to see what would have happened if Stephen had
not been there to calm her down.

Nathan also knew that he could not do anything to her family without discussing it with
her first. So, for now, those two had to wait. He was tempted to further punish Micheal,
but the boy it seemed, was scared enough.

His raging even without Havoc Mad scared the life out of his little brother, showed
Nathan that he would not fall out of line anytime soon. He would be demanding that
Micheal apologise to Jay-la today at some point. Whether he did it in front of Rae-Rae
or not was another matter, he still didn‟t know what Jay-la had told the girl to get her to
change her mind. only Rae-Rae knew that.

Certainly didn‟t go telling her about Micheal‟s storming down her apartment with her
children inside.
That would not have gone down well with Rae-Rae. He did know although Rae-Rae was
here and happy to be so, it actually was Micheal who had upset her, not Jay-la as
Micheal believed, so his attitude towards her that day was uncalled for and Nathan
would demand he apologise.
He stood from his desk. “ Why is mother not here trying to beat me up for de-ranking
her daughter?” he asked his father, walking around his desk and heading for the door.

“l imagine she agrees with you,” his father shrugged.

“You could have punished her worse, being de-ranked is nothing when your parents are
still the former Alpha and Luna, and she is mated to a Beta, so its not like she lost
anything. I or your mother never had the heart to punish her, but we always knew t
some point she would tick you off to no end and you, would punish her. Just glad you
didn‟t toss her in the cells to be honest.”

“Trust me, the thought crossed my mind. If she wasn‟t pregnant I would have.” He was
tired and needed a nap. Headed to his suite and mind-linked Jackson, on the way „going
for a nap, wake me if Jay-la wants to talk, or brings the children to meet me otherwise,
see you at lunch time.

„Right boss.

„I had her phone on me last night, find it and give it to her, in case Lauren calls.‟

„will do.‟

Chapter 36
Jay-la POV

She had no idea what to do, how to handle her parents at this point. She was really mad
at them for what they had done. But part of her was still happy to be here, to see them.

She had gone up stairs and had a hot shower, leaving the triplets alone with him. She
doubted very much that he would harm them.

Jay-la was just disappointed in both of them, Brad not so much, he hadn‟t even really
tried to convince her, she now realised, probably hadn‟t wanted to go along with the
plan.
It was cold outside and the children didn‟t really have anything warm to wear, Heck she
didn‟t even know anyone anymore to borrow winter clothing from for her children. It
was likely she could find spare clothing in pack house‟s laundry. She would have to head
there with them after breakfast to sort something out.

She seriously doubted Nathan would allow her to head into town with them to go
shopping, wouldn‟t believe her.

Think she was running away. Not that Kora would ever let her anymore. It was clear Kora
was going nowhere.

She came back downstairs and popped one of her old winter coats on each of the girls,
it hung like a dress on both of them, and she‟d fished out an old jacket of Brads from his
wardrobe and put it on Nate.

“Where are we going?” he asked her.

“To hopefully find you three, some warm clothing that will fit.”

“Oh,” was all he said.

She watched him for a minute and sighed. He was expecting something else. Perhaps
her to tell them everything she had not before. She had pretty much left out her entire
life story to them, they had grown up in the human world, and so she‟d not seen fit to
tell them about pack life, her family, their extended family, but he had seen the photo‟s
in her room and was likely curious.

“Come with me,” she indicated to the three of them and they all followed her to the
living area, she settled them on the couch, noted her father came into the room. Glared
at him, he just frowned back at her.

“Why don‟t you go and check on your Mate. she shot at him “not awake yet I guess.”
Jay-la was likely to be upset for awhile about what he had allowed to be done to her
mother, his own Mate, and they would just have to deal with it, how she would go and
see her mother after the knowledge of what had truly happened she didn‟t know, but
knew she would have to.
“No, not yet, but I will go if that is what you want.”

She just stared at him until he sighed and then walked away.

Turning back to the triplets, she found all of their eyes on her, “Are you mad, mum?”
Nate asked.

“Not really, just disappointed in something your grandpa did, is all. I‟ll get over it. I
suppose, might take a few days.”

“ls Auntie Rae-Rae here yet?” Rosalie piped up.

That got her attention. How did they know Rae-Rae was here? “Actually yes she is, in the
main house, but how did you know about that?”

“That man who talked to us yesterday, asked if we‟d like Auntie Rae-Rae to come here,”
she answered back without thinking about it.

“What man?” she asked, but could hazard a guess.

“Said his name was Nathan,” Lilly answered. ” He‟s in some of the pictures in your room.”

Jay-la ran her hand over her face. Is that what he had been about to say when Jackson
interrupted him this morning? She knew they had seen his picture but had no idea he
had spoken to them. “When exactly did this happen?”

“Just after we talked to Grandma Lauren and Grandpa Tony,” Nate answered.

“It was snowing outside, we showed them” Lilly piped up.

“Showed them?”

“Yep, that man, Ethan, said we could call him uncle Ethan if we liked. You wouldn‟t mind,
video called them, they wanted to talk to us. Check on us” Rosalie smiled at her, he‟s
nice, mummy play games with us and Grandpa.”
Right so she still didn‟t know everything that had happened, Nathan had clearly seen
and spoken to them already, she sighed. Not much she could do about it now.

He‟d apparently been about to tell her too.

“Who is he?” Nate asked, his question clear and direct.

Jay-la recalled the way he had looked at the photo of him, he was staring right at her,
his green eyes demanding her to answer him, a small smile touched her l!ps, his alpha
gene‟s were too bl00dy strong even at five he was trying to assert his dominance and
demand answers, and he didn‟t even know what he really was, or the power he would
hold later in life, he was likely going to be an Alpha not be reckoned with.

“Your father:” she said simply, looking right back at him, she had never truly lied to
them, just declined to tell them the whole truth. Now it was out, what would they think?

They were all silent, both the twins staring at her with their mouths open in shock.

Nate didn‟t really say anything, he‟d clearly already figured it out and just wanted to
hear it from her.

“He is here, and he wants to meet you today. How would you feel about that?”

The girls looked a !little nervous, but Nate appeared almost emotionless on the subject,
for such a happy boy, she didn‟t like it. “Why now?” he suddenly asked.

“He just found out about the three of you, I never told him,” short and to the point,
truthful.

She could see he was thinking about it. “You don‟t have to if you don‟t want to. I‟m sure
it will be fine to wait a few days, but..”

“He‟s like you, with a wolf?” Nate asked.

“Yes…actually this is his pack we are in, he is known as the Alpha. He is in-charge of all
other wolves in the pack.
Jay-la noted that both her daughters were holding hands and watching the conversation
between her and him.

“Do you girls want to ask anything?”

They both shook their heads indicating no, Nate was more then covering what they
wanted to ask in other words, they might not be just like him, but they were ail in sync
most of the time, the bond between the three of them was strong and they could often
ask questions directly after each other and not interrupt the flow or topic. It had been a
little unnerving at first, but she had gotten used to it.

“What does Kora think?” he asked, surprising her completely.

She felt Kora pushing forward so she could see them, speak with them You should meet
him” she told them “his wolf, wants to meet you too. Very eager to meet his children.”

She stayed on the surface and watched them absorb the news along with Jay-la.

Whatever he wants, the girls will follow: Kora told Jay-la.

I know, they always follow his lead.

Kora chortled Typical behaviour for Alpha siblings.

„Mm I know‟

Their conversation was interrupted by her father mind-linking her, “Jay-la your mother is
awake and asking to see you.”

“Fine, on my way.” she severed the link. Stood up, looked down at the triplets, “your
grandma is awake, let‟s go see her:” She would not deny her mother the chance to see
her grandchildren. That was a guilt she could not survive again if something actually did
happen to her and her children had the right to know her as well.

The Alpha could wait, she still didn‟t want to deal with him yet. Kora was instantly
annoyed with her for not wanting to be with their Mate yet. She had fully accepted him,
and couldn‟t understand why Jay-la hadn‟t. Didn‟t like that she was still trying to resist
him or keep her distance.

Jay-la ignored her feeling of annoyance for the moment, it had barely been a few hours
of realisation and she was still awfully confused about somethings, including when he
knew and why he hadn‟t told her right away. She wanted that cleared up before she
made any concrete plans. He had either lied to her or didn‟t want her when he had
realised.

She wanted to know which it was, regardless of the fact that his wolf was not going to
let go of Kora, had wanted her without question. She had no idea of Nathan‟s motives at
all.

His feelings on the subject…

Her mother, Vera sat in her hospital bed. Her wounds were healing well now that lvy was
back. She smiled right at Jay-la and reached out her arms to hug her daughter. Even
though Jay-la was disappointed in her actions, she could not deny the need to hug her
mother and feel her embrace. She stepped into it and hugged her back.

“I‟m not happy with you, but we‟ll get to that later l suppose,” she spoke softly into her
mother‟s ear. Then pulled herself back and introduced her to the triplets. Her mother
seemed completely taken aback. Her father had clearly not told her, perhaps he thought
Jay-la would like to do it herself.

She watched as her mother‟s eyes widened in complete shock, as she looked at them,
then she was out of bed in a flash to hug them all in one big hug, squishing them
altogether and telling them how much she loved them, and that they should call her
Grandma. Are they the Alphas?” Vera asked.

„Yes‟

She saw her eyes move to her questioningly „does he know?‟

„Does now‟ she shrugged.

„Has he met them?

„Not officially, that is up to them.

l guess fair enough, considering the circumstances around your leaving and all!‟ it
appeared her mother was actually on her side, despite what she had done.

Jay-la felt today was going to be a long day. She was really tired to be honest, hadn‟t
slept all night, and was emotionally drawn out from having found out the Alpha, a man
she‟d believed for the past 6 years, hated her, was now her Mate, she is second chance
Mate. She wondered what happened to Sophia? Made a point to remember to ask him.

She needed a lot of answers from him.

But you wont reject him. Kora stated flatly.

Jay-la sighed was silent for a moment „No Kora, I will not, if he is honest with me,
actually wants me.

He does: Kora stated simply. Your so sure of that!‟

Yes, you can‟t deny my bond with Havoc, and his wolf feels what he feels‟ Kora replied.
„you always loved him, even after he banished us, I know this. You can‟t hide your
feelings from me.‟

Jay-la sighed, her wolf was not wrong on that account, she had just been so scared for
her children that she had pushed herself to be their protector at all times, to allow
nothing and no one to come to hurt them, not even him or his mate.

Her fear of Sophia‟s retribution if she ever found out was real. No Luna would stand for
bastard children trying to claim what was her children‟s birth right. She bit her l!p,
wondered, did he have children with Sophia? Alpha Blaine had told her Sophia was
gone, but that didn‟t mean there weren‟t children running around. Just one more thing
to ask him, perhaps she should make a list and just hand it to him, let him answer in
whatever order he saw fit.

She was in the pack house headed for the laundry to find suitable clothing for the
triplets. They were all looking around at the pack house. Stephen had walked over to her
the minute she walked into the pack house and smiled at her. “how are you feeling?” he
asked her. She could hear the concern in his voice.

“You‟re all bastards, do you know that?” she shot at him. Knowing he would understand
her meaning.

He laughed “yes…but that‟s okay‟ his Gamma Charm fell over her and his southern
accent fell out of his mouth, she punched him-hard in the arm and he burst out
laughing sorry Jay-la, I did want to tell you but was under orders not to. You‟ll need to
speak to him about why, but he had his reasons. I personally would have just sedated
you and dumped you right in his bed, boom, problem solved” he grinned.

“You think so, huh?”

“Yep.” he nodded, “on the topic, Suzzy, could you call her and have her come here to
assist with the pups?”

Jay-la stopped walking down the hallway, turned to look at him. “Why?” but she wasn‟t
so dumb, no wolf would just ask for a human to be brought here for no reason, and the
stupid boyish grin on his face told her she knew the reason.

Well, thank the goddess she had insisted on Suzzy not letting them in the apartment
that day, he might have bl00dy se*duced her.

“She‟s my mate.” he shrugged, but couldn‟t wipe that stupid grin off his face. then
handed her her phone, surprisingly.

First Rae-Rae and now Suzzy, poor women had no idea what they were in for.

“Where are you going?” he suddenly asked her.

“Well, I have no winter clothing appropriate for the children” she indicated the three of
them wearing oversized adult jackets. “so I figured the Pack Laundry would have some
in the lost and found!”

He shook his head. “No, that won‟t do. Come on. Alpha has been preparing for your
arrival for weeks now. The pups are already enrolled in school, just no start date I
believe, and their rooms are all set up and though I was not here, my Luna was with you,
the whole time. He has likely gone ahead and prepared clothing for them, as well as
you, I‟m sure.

Come, let‟s go up and see.” he grabbed onto her arm and turned her to head back the
way they came.

“What, wait…I don‟t want to go up there.”

Stephen laughed “Oh yes you do…and I know Kora definitely does.” he turned to tease
her lightly.

Just great Kora was already excited, wagging her tail and prancing happily inside Jay-la‟s
mind at the thought of being in her Mate‟s room. He called to the children and they ran
towards them, catching up to him.

“Stephen,” she warned him.

“What! you think you can get past my Charm..” he laughed softly “| dare you to try,” he
teased her playfully. As he punched the elevator button and they stood waiting for it.

“Where is he?” she asked nervously. She had made the decision to accept him and this
would be the first time coming across him since then. Goddess knows Kora was crazy
happy with her, and excited that finally she and Nathan would mark and mate each
other, which would give her access to her mate via the mind-link.

“Haven‟t seen him this morning. I crashed out after Havoc ran off to find Kora. You, my
dear, are an emotional mess and exhaust me to no end.”

“Sorry about that.”

He shrugged, “comes with the job.” They stepped into the elevator and rode it up the
five floors.

She found Luna Darla and Alpha Blaine standing not far from the elevator, clearly
expecting them. Both their eyes fell on the triplets right away as they stepped out and
onto the floor.
She watched as Alpha Blaine‟s eyes glazed over for a few seconds, then he refocused on
the children.

Could she introduce them to his parents before him? He was the Alpha. She had no idea
what the protocol was here, but clearly Alpha Blaine and Luna Darla didn‟t seem to care
much, as they walked over towards them.

To her surprise, Luna Darla sank down on her knees and introduced herself and her
Mate to the triplets right away, no hesitation at all, clearly she didn‟t care what Nathan
might think about it. Her interest was in meeting her grandchildren, that much was clear.
The triplets looked up at her for confirmation and she simply nodded at them.

She saw him appear in the hallway, stepped out of the Alpha Suite, he was running his
hands through his blonde hair, was trying to smooth it over. He was wearing blue jeans
and a white tee-shirt that was well fitted and showed off his ch3st muscles, as well as his
abdomen. She could see the outline of his eight-pack. Wow, he‟d only had a six-pack
last time she‟d been with him, he was barefoot and there was stubble on his chin, he
honestly looked like he‟d just rolled out of bed, and thrown on whatever was closest to
him.

When her eyes met his, there was a smile on his face, and she realised he‟d seen her
take him in from head to toe, damn it stupid Mate Bond. She heard Kora chuckle inside
her head „our Mate is hot: Jay-la shook her head and tried to stop the blush that was
creeping up her face at being caught checking him out. How embarrassing.

He walked right over to her, the triplets were all staring at him, he smiled down at them,
bl00dy hell how was she supposed to keep her senses about her when he smiled like
that, she‟d forgotten how much his smile could affect her.

Had buried her feelings for him for so darn long that some of them were actually
forgotten, but now they were coming back in full force due to the Mate Bond.

Being this close to him, after making the decision to accept him was not helping her, she
was being drawn to him and she really did want answers before being se*duced by him.

Kora chortled in her mind, „Mark and Mate, then get answers.
“No, I need answer‟s Kora.I know we want him, but too much stuff to ignore. I‟m sorry I
know you want full access to your mate, but please…”

Kora huffed „fine.

She refocused on the people around her to find Nathan staring right at her. He had
probably asked her a question, she realised but she had been talking with Kora and had
not been listening. So used to them being on their own that she had just tuned
everything out like she always did, giving Kora her full and undivided attention.

“Sorry, did you ask something?”

“What brings you this way?”

Her eyes turned to the children who were all still staring at him, “um, well I wasn‟t
coming up here but Stephen kind of dragged me.”

“Mum says your our father,” Lilly said quietly. She had a hand on his jeans on his knee,
tugging at it to get his attention.

Jay-la bit her l!p and watched as his eyes moved to the small girl in front of him. She
was staring up at him and even Jay-la could see the look of hope in her daughters‟ eyes.

They would feel a connection to him as they had with her father, it would likely be pretty
instant, especially with him being the Alpha.

She watched as he hunkered down and smiled at her, Yes sweetheart, I am your father,
now let me see.. which one are you?” his head tilted to the side and his eyes narrowed,
as if to really look at her.

Jay-la watched as Rosalie hurriedly stepped up to stand next to her twin sister. They
were identical and the girls were clearly wondering if he could tell the difference
between them. She had no idea if he knew which girl was which, was a bit curious
herself if he could tell them apart. Lilly was the more brazen whereas Rosalie was a little
reserved, but if you didn‟t know that you wouldn‟t be able to tell them apart, Jay-la and
Kora could pick them by the inflection in their voices and their scents were different,
though not by much.
He looked from one to the other for a full minute then tapped Lilly right on her cute
button nose. You are Lilly, I believe.”

The squeal that peeled out of her in her excitement and joy that he knew which child
she was, was ear piercing, even Kora whined and shook her head. She watched as both
her girls jumped on him in their excitement that their father could tell them apart even
though he‟d never met them before. He laughed out loud and hugged them to him, as
they knocked him off balance and he fell backwards onto his backside.

Jay-la watched him close his eyes as he hugged them, felt tears well up in her own eyes
and had to turn her head to look away from the scene before her. It was something she
had always dreamed about, but never ever dared to let herself believe would ever
happen. It pulled at all her heartstrings, to see him accept them so readily. She felt a
hand on her back and knew it was Stephen breath”, he whispered to her through the
mind-link.

Oh, this was going to be more difficult than she thought.

She took a moment to pinch the bridge of her nose and gain her composure, blink away
the tears that were threatening to spill down her face, it took a good 30 seconds and
she had to breathe her way through it. When her eyes finally moved back to them, he
was looking right at her, concern written all over his stupid handsome face. She waved
him off, not trusting her voice. If she had to talk to him it might just break her resolve
and she was still mad at him.

She watched as he popped the girls back on to their feet and turned to look at his son.
Nate was standing there with his arms folded over his ch3st, he wasn‟t going to be so
easily won over. Jay-la thought that‟s my boy, get your stubbornness from me. Nathan
got up off his backside and hunkered before Nate, extended his hand “you have looked
after your sisters very well.”

“Someone had to.” the boy shot at him and turned and walked away to stand next to his
mother. His tiny hand reached up into hers and his grip was very tight.

Nathan dropped his hand, sighed softly and stood up.

There wasn‟t much he was going to be able to do about it.

Nate would come around only when he was ready.

Nathan‟s eyes moved to her, “you said Stephen made you?”

“She was headed for the laundry to find winter clothes in the lost and found for the
children,” he shrugged.

“Oh! Well, that I can fix that,” he nodded to Stephen.

“Jay-la, if you and the children come this way, I have made sure already, they will want
for nothing.”

She wanted to yell at him about what right he had to do that, but Kora was warning her
not to in her mind, he was trying to show her that he had already accepted them.

Both girls ran up to him, taking a hand each and smiled brightly up at him, willing to go
wherever he wanted to take them. Already accepted him just like that, Alpha bl00d‟s she
shook her head.

Found he was watching her with a raised eyebrow, she didn‟t say anything, better to
keep her mouth shut lest she piss off Kora, heck she would wind up marked by Havoc if
Kora got really mad at her. So she just motioned for him to lead the way.

She followed him with Nate holding onto her hand tightly. The boy didn‟t know what to
make of the situation.

She hesitated at the doors to the Alpha Suite, did she even want to be in there, he
would have been in here with Sophia and she didn‟t want to think about that woman.
He noted her hesitation and said “you can leave the room anytime you like Jay-la.”

He was standing just inside the doors. He had pushed them both open. She noted it was
very neat, all black and white, white walls and white rugs on dark hardwood flooring,
with black furniture, even the lamps were black and white, there was a large mirror over
a fireplace and several doors off the room. She had a vague memory of the Alpha Suite
but it didn‟t look like this in her mind. She had no idea where all those doors went.
“It was mum and dad‟s suite until about a year ago, they moved out and into a smaller
suit, seeing as it‟s just them and Halley, now. And I renovated to make more room. So it
doesn‟t look like you would recall from your childhood.”

“Whose Halley?” she asked, not knowing the name.

He laughed softly, and a shiver ran down her spine. It was deep, gravelly and filled with
amusement „My little sister, actually, she‟s 5, same age as our babies.”

„Our babies‟ Kora was suddenly purring at him. So loud he could hear it, they all could.

Jay-la frowned and rubbed her ch3st. But Kora wouldn‟t stop, just eased off to a mere
hum.

Nathan chuckled again “I think Kora likes it when I say that,” his tone was light and a
little playful to her ears.

“You said you could fix the clothing issue,” Jay-la changed the subject, trying to ignore
how his laugh was starting to affect her. The longer she was in his presence the harder it
was going to be for her to resist him to get her answers.

“Yes I did!” he walked past her off to her left, and pushed through a door. There were
several other doors down the long corridor. She counted 6.

“Bedrooms, three of which I have set up for our children, of course, if they don‟t like it
they may make changes at will.”

He stepped through the door and pointed to the second and third doors. ” Girls go
check out your rooms. they ran off screaming with excitement. His eyes moved to Nate.
“This one is yours, son.” he indicated to the first door.

Jay-la noted that each door actually had their names on them, she watched him let go
of her hand and walk over to it and push the door open. Jay-la followed him into the
room.

The twins, it appeared from all the yelling and squealing she was hearing, were
completely happy about their rooms.
Nate‟s room had a large bed against the back wall, with light blue bedding and there
was a desk off the left of the bed, over by the window, along with a school bag and
uniform draped over the back of a chair.

He had his own bathroom and large walk-in closet which stood open, she could see it
was filled with clothing, to the right side of the bed was a sitting area with bean bags, a
TV up on the wall, a couple of gaming consoles were set up and there was a remote on
the small table which told him he had access to pay TV, and there in the corner was a
small fridge and a shelf full of snacks.

He was walking around touching things. He had never had a room like this before, “If
you want to change anything.

“Son, you can.”

Jay-la froze. She hadn‟t realised just how close Nathan was to her, she had been looking
around and watching Nate‟s reaction to realise that Nathan was standing almost directly
behind her. It was only when he spoke did she realise it.

She glanced at him, her eyes met his. He was no more than a foot away, and his deep
dark blue eyes were on her, and he was looking at her almost as he used to, with desire
burning in them. She swallowed hard and took a hasty step away, further into the room
before she was sucked into them and unable to move away.

He smiled right at her, „do you want to see our room?‟ he asked softly, through the
mind-link, his voice had deepened quite a lot and his undertone was all sedu*ction.

Her eyes widened in shock at his suddenly sed*uctive tone, which only made his smile
deepen, „no‟ she shook her head a little bit terrified and little bit excited at the same
time. She turned and walked clear across the room to get away from him, the damned
Mate Bond that was becoming harder by the minute to resist.

Chapter 37
Nathan POV
He had nearly fallen out of his bed when he‟d been woken by his father mind-linking
him that Stephen had brought Jay-la to the Alpha floor.

He was completely naked and moved to his walk-in robe and pulled a tee-shirt and
jeans off the hangers, yanked them on and headed out to greet them, didn‟t much
worry about his appearance. She‟d seen him half a sleep many times actually always told
him he looked sexy when half asleep.

He‟d stepped out of his suite, hopefully soon their suite. He had not been expecting the
triplets as his father had not mentioned that.

He ran his hair through his messy bed hair and headed towards them, his mother was
already talking to them, couldn‟t wait to introduce herself to her grandbadies, it seemed.

He had been surprised by Jay-la‟s lack of anger in his direction, something had changed
or, perhaps after this morning, Havoc‟s display of wanting to mark her. She was either
willing to accept him or worried any display of withdrawal or rejection would get her
forcibly marked by his wolf. Either way, it was nice to see her in this state. Even nicer to
watch her slide her eyes over him and take him in, he couldn‟t help but smile at her.

„A start‟ Havoc piped up in his mind.

I can work with that‟ he thought, going over there. She even seemed embarrassed that
he‟d caught her checking him out. Hell she could do it all day every day as far as he was
concerned.

To his great delight, the twins took right to him, and when they had launched
themselves right into his arms after he had picked them apart, his team of warriors who
had been watching them had let him know that the only difference they could see was
Lilly was more upfront and Rosalie quieter, seeing as the girl had grabbed onto him and
directly asked him if he was her father she could only be Lilly, but he had looked her
over, and her sister they indeed were identical, just taking his time before letting her
know he did know who she was.

It had made them both very happy that he knew them apart. Their scents were ever so
slightly different that would be a great help. He could well imagine the mischief they
would try to get up to later in life, especially if they were anything like their mother,
being identical, probably try to trick him as to who they were to avoid punishment at
some point.

He‟d caught Jay-la‟s reaction to the twins and him hugging. He was instantly concerned,
didn‟t know if it was happy or sadness. He‟d also seen Stephen reach out and touch her
to comfort her, and when she had regained her composure and found him looking at
her she had waved him off, clearly not wanting to talk about it. They were going to have
to.

Nate, on the other hand, a very reserved, angry little one, took a shot at him about him
not being around to look after his sisters. Very much the Alpha and ready to fight it out.
But then, to his surprise, he had walked over and clutched his mother‟s hand like it was a
life line, like he needed her to comfort him. „even and Alpha will always want their
mummy‟ his father mind-linked him his tone full of amusement.

He‟d walked them down to, hopefully their suite soon, and pushed both doors open for
them to walk in. The girls were off looking at things. Nate stayed with his mother. He
could see her worry and tried to reduce it by letting her know she could leave the room
anytime she liked, but he didn‟t really want her too.

When he‟d mentioned the words our babies and Kora had purred so loudly he couldn‟t
help but chuckle. Thank the goddess, she was on his side, 3 against 1 at this point. The
twins were off with excitement at seeing their rooms. He‟d actually installed an adjoining
door between their rooms. He thought they might want that, he‟d had it done the day
after he‟d found out about them being his.

He stayed with Jay-la and Nate. He could tell the twins were fine. She‟d walked into his
room after him but had stopped just inside the door. He‟d simply followed and allowed
himself to watch her. She was wearing clothes from olden days. Actually, if he recalled
correctly he had removed this very shirt from her body once before.

He leaned on the door frame only a foot away and just watched her, enjoyed being this
close to her, smelling her scent. It was wonderful to actually be this close to her and not
have her trying to run away.
Though he knew it was driving up his desire to mark and mate her, with every minute
she stood this close to him, and he could see the love bite Havoc had left on her. His
mark would be permanent.

When he‟d spoken to Nate, her entire body had frozen, she clearly had not realised just
how close he was to her. Perhaps Kora was purposely not trying to smell him to keep
her from realising how close he was, her beautiful jewel green eyes had turned on him
and he hadn‟t been about to help himself bring up their bedroom, and the seductive
undertone of his voice was automatically pulled from him. Her eyes had always been his
undoing and now it seemed was no different. He wanted her and he wanted her to
know it, just like he had always wanted her to know.

It was more need at this point, as he was trying to convince her that he was of no threat
to her, that he did indeed want this Bond, did want her to be his Mate, his Luna and
goddess, help him, the mother to their future children, because, yes he wanted to put a
pup in her and if she would let him he would do it right now, to see her swollen with his
unborn child. His desire was increasing by the minute.

He watched as she practically ran to the other side of the room away from him, and
couldn‟t help but smile. She was afraid he was going to seduce her, he would at some
point, could only imagine that if the children weren‟t all here he would be already trying.

Nathan knew she was not coming out of this room with him standing in the doorway.
“I‟ll go check on the girls. Why don‟t you help Nate find some winter clothing from the
wardrobe,” and he left her alone with Mate. Still smiling to himself, it seemed she was
feeling the Mate Bond, though was still trying to fight it. He chuckled to himself, ah now
that is a losing battle, considering he was going to be as close to her as was possible to
help it get stronger, until she couldn‟t deny it anymore, deny him. Her days of defiance
were over now.

Even Havoc chortled at that thought.

He found the twins had already made a mess in both their rooms, toys were pulled out
and strewn about the rooms and both beds had clearly been jumped on.

They were currently eating snacks from their snack corner. “Girls, how about we get you
some warm clothes on, go over there and pick something warm out”. They turned those
green eyes on him, smiling up at him “Okay.” they both said at the same time, and run
off to Rosalie‟s wardrobe to find something to wear. They were so freaking adorable, he
was never going to be able to punish them, those darned green eyes would sink him
every time.

He wondered if this was what his parents felt for Abbey and why they couldn‟t punish
her. Hmm guess it was a Jay-la chore. He was certain she had disciplined them already.
Being a single parent, there was no other choice.

He stood and watched from the doorway as they helped dress each other in warm
clothing and came out with big pink puffy jackets with fur around the hoods and long
pants with little boots.

How was it even possible that they got cuter in the last 5 minutes?

Even Havoc was watching them intently, his tail flicking back and forth happily as he
watched them. He would have to get Jay-la‟s permission to let Havoc out to meet them,
though his wolf had never been so happy in all his life, clearly having Kora as a Mate
was good for him, not to mention they had gone from being alone to having a Mate
and children, three of them, instant family.

He headed out of the room and the twins went running into Nate‟s room. He was in
there putting shoes on, Jay-la was sitting on the edge of the bed watching him, she was
holding a black jacket for him to put on, the twins ran right up to her talking a mile a
minute about their rooms, how there were fairy and unicorn toys and dolls to play with,
how everything was all pink purple and sparkly, they climbed up on Nate‟s bed and were
already jumping on it. But then they complained that his bed was bigger than either of
theirs.

Which it was, an Alpha male would need a bigger bed than an Alpha female and he had
thought about this. Nate‟s room was sporting a queen-sized bed where both the girls
only had single beds, that‟s not why you did it‟ Havoc piped up and chortled at him.

I don‟t want boys in my girls‟ rooms.‟ Nathan muttered. He knew it too, but was trying to
convince himself he wasn‟t going to be the overprotecting father figure.

Yes, you will.!‟ Havoc chortled again „l will be!

“Jay-la, what are your and the children‟s plans for the day?

“Not much. Find them warm clothes, maybe find Rae-Rae and hang out”

“How‟d you know Rae-Rae is here?” he questioned. He had yet to tell her that.

The smirk that crossed her face, practically melted his heart.

She was looking directly at him with full-blown amusement in her eyes. If the children
weren‟t in this room, he would be on her so fast she wouldn‟t know what hit her.

“I watched you all arrive home last night, Kora and I were hiding a snow drift.” she nearly
laughed and he loved it, hell he didn‟t care she‟d escaped from him. Right this minute,
just seeing her that happy, even at his expense, made him happy.

I told you l smelled Kora‟ Havoc muttered at him.

Sorry buddy next time I‟ll listen:‟ he promised.

“Havoc nearly looked right at us, but I‟m guessing you thought I was stillL.. in the Luna
Suite and didn‟t listen to him, or convinced him we weren‟t out there.” she was chuckling
and he could hear Kora along with her. They were both amused that they had gotten
away and hidden from him. He did note the hesitation. She obviously didn‟t want their
children to think he had locked her up, put everyone above herself he thought, even his
reputation, didn‟t want to make him look bad in their children‟s eyes. She really was to
good for him.

“Was a great shock indeed” he nodded, then shot through the mind-link „you ever climb
5-storeys down the drain pipe again and I will put you across my knee and let Havoc
suc*k the hell out of you.‟ his tone was firm but still playful.

Havoc pushed his way to the surface right there in front of her and the children. “I‟ll
st*ck you good and proper:” he growled playfully at her.

Jay-la raised an eyebrow in response but he heard Kora chortle softly.

All of the children were staring at him now. This was unexpected and they had no
context for his sudden comment either. Nathan had been going to wait a few days.
Havoc turned his eyes on them one at a time to really look at his children, Jay-la was
watching from her seat, he could see Kora on the surface now to, they didn‟t seem
afraid of him just watching.

The twins had stopped jumping up and down on the bed and were looking at him with
interest, probably the first time seeing a wolf other than Kora. Nate stood up from tying
his shoe and stepped over to the bed, climbed up and stood right in front of the twins.

Their protector as always. Not that Havoc would ever hurt them. He was just finally
getting to see his pups for the first time. “Mine.” He growled softly, and then retreated.

“Sorry,” Nathan apologised, “thought we were going to wait for that a few days. I guess
Havoc changed his mind. I hope he didn‟t frighten you?” he directed at the children.

They all just shook their heads.

He was more than relieved that they weren‟t afraid of his wolf.

“I‟m starving. Let‟s go eat” he said, heading for the door.

As they all walked out, Lilly piped up “Daddy, where is mummy‟s room? We all got one,
did mummy?”

Nathan‟s heart skipped a beat and he was hard-pressed to keep the happy howl from
Havoc inside of him. As he turned and looked down at his very expected daughter who
had just called him Daddy for the first time, he could not, however, stop the moisture
filling his eyes at the joy of hearing just that one word, „daddy. He blinked rapidly and
tried to push the tears of joy about to spill down his face.

“Um, yes she does”. He cleared his throat and looked right at Jay-la, she was staring at
him now, and appeared shocked by his reaction to their daughter‟s words. He tried to
shake it off, but he was too darn happy. ” She can stay with me, in the master bedroom.
Or if that doesn‟t suit her yet, in one of the other rooms down the hall from you.”
Her shock was gone and turned to a deep frown, “I never said we would be staying in
there.” he watched as three sets of eyes turned on her questioningly, even Nate it
seemed, was expecting to stay in his room, seeing as he had one.

“We can discuss it later:” Nathan nodded, ” Let‟s just go eat.

Jay-la, you and I will have to sit down and really talk later, perhaps over dinner? Just the
two of us.”

“And just where would my children be?”

“Our children can be with either one of our parents or both of them if you like.”

“Fine,” I want some answers, anyway.

Chapter 38
Jay-la POV

It had shocked her to hear Lilly call him daddy, her eyes had widened, but it was more
shocking to see Nathan nearly cry.

The look on his face said it all, he had actually loved hearing it, she could see the joy on
his face at just that one word. She knew right at that moment he would never let a
single soul hurt them, he did love them. He loved her children… Their children.

When he had answered Lilly with „in his room‟ she had frowned. Did he think she was
just going roll over for him and do as he wanted, she still had some choices, and when
her children had all looked at her when she had told him she had not agreed to them
staying in the Alpha suite in the rooms he had prepared for them, it was clear not only
were they all expecting it, they all wanted to.

They were going to make her stay in the Alpha suite. She could see it coming, she would
be guilted into it by the big green eyes, though she would not be in his bed, she could
have a room down by theirs apparently. He had offered them the Luna Suite earlier.
Maybe she could stay there. It was just down the hall.
„Not separating us from pups jay-la‟ Kora piped up.

l can‟t handle this yet Kora, I know what you want, how do I khow you Won‟t just move
my sleeping body at will into his bed?

Kora chortled at her „I could do that even from the Luna Suite if I wanted to.‟

Jay-la sighed it was a losing battle.

„Yes it is. Give in quickly. I want to be able to talk to my Mate.‟

When Nathan told her that they needed to talk, she agreed to it, she needed answers
and she wanted to keep Kora placated. Her wolf was obsessed with her being Marked
and Mated, mostly because she wanted access to her Mate. Jay-la actively working on
their Bond would help keep Kora happy and hopefully not steel her body to take it to
her Mate. Which Kora had clearly thought about doing, it was all in her tone.

The day was long and she was very tired. Nathan had found Rae-Rae and left her and
the triplets with her. Micheal had walked away from her, though the look he gave her
said he felt guilty and he‟d asked if he could speak with her at some point alone. Jay-la
just shrugged and nodded, she didn‟t really have much to say to him right now, had to
much going on in her own world.

They were in Rae-Rae‟s room on the first floor, just sitting and chatting. Rae-Rae was
happy to be here, she‟d spent the entire morning with Micheal and they‟d held hands all
day and she‟d been a little embarrassed by other couples who seemed to have no
boundaries when it came to displays of affection for each other.

Jay-la was listening to her prattle on about her time here, while the triplets were
watching a movie, and then she was being woken up, hadn‟t even realised she‟d fallen
asleep. Her eyes blinked a couple of times and finally, a face came into view.

It was her mother, Vera, all healed now and out of the hospital.

“Mum, what time is it?”

“nearly 7 baby girl, don‟t you have dinner plans?”

Jay-la stared at her for a moment confused, then groaned and rolled over and buried
herself back into the blanket that was covering her “I‟m too tired.”

Her mother laughed “Oh you can‟t play that game, Rae-Rae here says you‟ve been
asleep for hours.

“But I was awake all night, Kora kept me up,” Jay-la grumbled and it was true, she and
Havoc running around mating all night.

Her mother poked her in the ribs. Come on get up, I brought you something to wear,
and Rae-Rae said she‟ll do your makeup.

Jay-la pulled the blanket tighter around her. “I don‟t wanna go,” she muttered.

“Yes you do, you can‟t ignore the man you‟ve been in love with all your life, anymore!”

“WHAT!!” she heard Rae-Rae yell, completely surprised by her mother‟s words.

Jay-la pulled the blanket over her head and tried to ignore them. She could feel the
blankets being yanked on and pulled at to try and make her get up.” Yes, l can,” she said
defiantly.

Her mother burst out laughing and finally pulled the blanket off of her, “get your butt
up and into the shower, or you will be late.”

“What can he do if l‟m late?” she muttered. Sitting herself up, nothing technically, she
was the future Luna and no one could touch her.

She heard Rae-Rae giggle “Micheal always threatens to su*ck me if I‟m naughty, you
might just get s*cked too. Do you really love him? Nathan?”

Jay-la sighed “it‟s complicated Rae-Rae.”

“No, it‟s not, you told me once, you believe in love at first sight, he‟s the one, isn‟t he.”

Jay-la got herself up off the couch “where is the bath room? she mumbled, a shower
was better than this conversation.
30 minutes later, she was frowning at herself in the mirror.

The dress her mother had picked out was, although absolutely gorgeous, a lace dress
with white underlay and soft pink lace over the top. It was off the shoulder and fitted all
the way down her body like a glove to her hips, then flared out slightly to give a full skirt
that swished when she walked, falling to mid thigh.

Inappropriate as far as she was concerned. It was way too se*xy a dress to be wearing in
front of him, Havoc had already nearly marked her this morning, and his love bite was
there for all to see. Even Rae-Rae had commented on it., asked her who had given it to
her while she was braiding her hair loosely.

She‟d left out a few tendrils on either side of her face.

Vera had been no help. She really liked Rae-Rae. Most people did, she was a happy
chatty thing, and had told her Nathan had given it to her that morning. Jay-la had
glared at her mother while Rae-Rae had gasped in shock.

“He moves fast,” she‟d giggled.

Vera giggled right back, every one here does, kind of our thing she‟d explained to her.
Rae-Rae had done Jay-la‟s make-up. It was light and natural with soft pink l!pstick to
match her dress. And she was wearing small white pumps, too short for her liking. She
much preferred her stiletto‟s, but again probably not suitable for this dinner.

“Mother, you do know this dinner is not a date, right?”

She watched as her and Rae-Rae laughed again “Goddess help me, she‟s been sucked in
already”

“Go and have dinner. You do remember where the private dining room is?”

“Blah blah blah,” Jay-a muttered as she left them alone.

She knew the triplets were up stairs with Nathan‟s parents and that hers would be
headed up there momentarily as well. They had all wanted to watch the triplets, so the
four of them were going to do it. In the Alpha suite, that way, if the children crashed out,
they could easily be put to bed.

She made her way to the private dining room on the ground floor. It was in the east
wing past the alpha‟s office and on the way to the ballroom where all important
functions would be held. The door was open when she got there. Nathan was already
inside, standing with a drink in his hand, he was wearing a pale grey suit and dark grey
dress shirt. Not a date, she thought to herself. Supposed to be just sorting things out
over dinner.

Yet there he was with hair neatly styled, clean shaven, dressed to the nines and smelling
delicious, though she knew it wasn‟t cologne, it was his scent, the one that identified
him as her Mate. His blue eyes moved to her, slid down over her slowly taking in what
she was wearing and a smile spread across his l!ps. As his eyes reached hers she could
already see the desire in them. Not a date. She reminded herself.

“You look beautiful.” his voice was soft and husky.

“I didn‟t pick it, mother did,” she stated flatly, trying to ignore the way he was looking at
her.

“Then I must thank her personally”, he walked over to the table and pulled out a chair
for her.

Jay-la sighed “This is not a date, you know that, right,” she stated as she walked over
and sat down in the chair he was holding for her.

His chuckle tickled her insides, he leaned down and murmured softly in her ear, his l!ps
brushing gently on them “I know Jay-la, but it could be hmm” and then he allowed his
hands to run up both her arms from elbow to shoulder, her skin sparked with electricity
all the way up her arms at his touched her.

She sucked in a deep breath as she felt his l!ps press against her ear in the lightest k!ss
she had ever felt. “I would love it to be a date,” he whispered to her. Then he moved
away and sat down across from her.
Her heart rate was beating twice as fast as normal, and she knew she was holding her
breath but could help it. Somehow she had forgotten how to exhale, he was smiling
right at her, his desire for her was clear to be seen and he wanted her to see it.

That was for certain, for he was not even attempting to hide it from her.

“Breath,” he said a moment later, his voice back to normal.

She expelled the held breath and felt embarrassed that he could have such an effect on
her. She‟d always loved him but he‟d never made her forget how to breathe before. This
could be problematic.

“Not a date,” she muttered.

Heard him chuckle again “who are you trying to convince me or yourself?” he asked
teasingly.

She shook her head “I need you to stop this, for a moment.”

“she looked directly at him”, l really do need answers from you.”

“I know,” he nodded “I will answer them, but I can‟t help how the bond affects either of
us Jay-la. It is very strong even for me, stronger than my last one, I can assure you of
that.”

“So let‟s start there then. What happened between you and your Mate? And when did it
happen?”

He waited until the young omega girl who had just walked into the room to serve them
their first course to leave and close the door behind her before answering the question.

“She was a terrible Mate, lazy, greedy and unfaithful. It ended after 3 and half years.”

Jay-la stared at him, that was not what she expected him to say, she had not known
what he was going to say but unfaithful, who the hell would cheat on him. She shook
her head. He was drop dead gorgeous and in bed could make you scream with pleasure
all night long.
“Elaborate please,” he stared at her. “Do you really need to know how much it hurt me
lay-la?”

“It‟s hot about that, I don‟t understand is all. Lazy greedy unfaithful? Put a little clarity
into that sentence please. I understand you may not want to talk about it but… I would
like to know, considering she was the reason I was banished, I think I have a right to
know a little bit more than.. three words.”

He stared at her for a long moment, then nodded, “Sophia was very materialistic,
refused to learn Luna duties from mother, refused to train to defend herself, refused to
produce an heir, was never happy with anything I did for her, bought for her, the only
thing we were compatible with was s*x. She rejected me when I cut off her access to the
packs funding. I tried to fix it.

She didn‟t seem to care and started flirting with any male around, ended up f*cking one
only to have Havoc kill him. We were officially over a week later. l accepted her rejection
and sent her back to where she came from.”

Jay-la was just staring at him, mouth open now, she had asked for elaboration and she
had gotten it. Still completely shocked by it though. She guessed that answered her
question about whether he‟d had children with her, no.

“Havoc killed him?” she queried after pulling herself together and when he sighed and
looked like he did not want to answer it, continued I‟m not worried about Havoc hurting
me or the children if that is what your thinking, just curious is all.”

“He was hurting and I was in agony, he took over and when he found them together” he
shrugged.

Jay-la decided to let it go. There seemed to be more there but clearly he didn‟t want to
talk about it.

She really didn‟t know what to say at all at that point.

Picked up the glass of wine in front of her and sipped it, while quietly contemplating her
next question. She was watching him, he had not eaten anything, was just holding his
fork in his hand above the seared scallops on his plate. “I‟m sorry,” she said softly.
“I‟m not,” he stated flatly and put his fork down, clearly his appetite was gone.

“How long have you and Timothy been together?” he asked her calmly, but there was a
slight edge to his voice.

Two years” she answered simply. Honestly.

“Do you love him?”

“No,” she shook her head, “Do you want to know about him and I?”

He was tapping the middle finger of his right hand on the table next to his dinner plate,
staring at the wall across the room. She recalled he only did that when he was thinking
over something he didn‟t know if he wanted the answer to. She would wait if he didn‟t
want to know that was fine.

“Is he going to be a problem? Come looking for you?”

“I doubt it, but I don‟t really know either.”

“Would you have married him?” She frowned at him. “Why would you even ask that?”

His eyes turned to her “because he asked when you were going to marry him.”

“OH that, he‟d been doing that for 6 months or so, it was a funny joke, and no, I had no
intention of ever marrying him.”

“Two years Jay-la, I want to know what he was to you,” his tone was a little harsh, for her
liking, but she guessed being that he was her mate just talking about it was painful,
considering he‟d obviously had to see her with him or it was reported to him.

Technically, she was still with him. There had been no breakup between them yet.

“A friend who was good stress relief;” she shrugged.

“That‟s it? That is your explanation?”

“Yes, if you want all the details, I will tell you, but I don‟t think you need to know them. I
do not love him, I never loved him, he was just a way not to feel so lonely and
unwanted.

He ran a hand over his face and through his hair, messing it up, stared up at the ceiling
for a long minute, then looked right at her, “I‟m sorry I made you feel lonely and
unwanted Jay-la. I know this is hard for you, considering our history, but l honestly was
an idiot and acted irrationally and impulsively that day. I should never have said those
words to you.”

She shrugged, he couldn‟t take it back, no-one could. It would always be there
somewhere inside her and him. It occurred to her a few minutes later that maybe he was
expecting her to forgive him, and she hadn‟t. She knew at some point se would be able
to, but right now she couldn‟t. Years of pain and stress don‟t just vanish in a matter of
minutes.

The next course arrived and she saw him stare at it. He wasn‟t going to eat it, it was
unlikely either of them would eat at this rate. “Why did you want me to come home?”
she asked after way too much silence was happening.

“Havoc demanded it, we saw you on TV and he wouldn‟t let up on it. Why wouldn‟t you
come home or even reply to the letter?”

“Scared… figured you‟d finally taken over and you and your Mate were going to punish
me for hitting her that one time. I had children to protect.”

“Did you think I was so petty Jay-la, you‟d known me for 20 years, went out with me for
over a year, was l ever the type to hold a grudge for something like that?”

She shrugged “I had known you for 20 years, we had a fun happy fling and then, in the
matter of a day, I was nothing to you, and you did banish me over it. You were a
different person, couldn‟t even stand to look at me that day, if I recall correctly.”

Again he ran his hand through his hair, so much like his father, but considering he had
grown up learning how to be an Alpha from Blaine, it was only natural that he would
pick up on some of the former Alpha‟s mannerisms.
He sighed. Perhaps he‟d not thought this conversation through. “If you don‟t want to
tallk about this, we don‟t have to.”

His eyes were on her now, “We have to do it at some point, I would like to get it out of
the way… it‟s.. just difficult, for both of us, I see… But you‟re right. I was a different
person, and to be honest with you, Sophia made me a different person. I have very little
patience, I anger easily and sometimes even our pack fears me, or Havoc, or both of us.
Havoc can be a bit of a nightmare, though I‟ll believe you heard the fight he was having
with his own unit to try and get to your place to kill Timothy for touching you. He‟s
pretty much been a raging beast ever since his first bond was broken so badly.”

“Oh, is that what that was about…I thought it was because there was another man
hanging out with his pups.”

Nathan shook his head, “that wouldn‟t set us off. You are our Mate Jay-la and a man
going into your apartment with an overnight bag, Havoc did not handle it well.”

“That is completely on you. I did not know you were my mate. On that note, when did
you know l was your mate?” she had wanted to know that for hours now. She knew now
from all of the comments she recalled from his Alpha Unit that they all knew, that that
was why they were in the city always on her. She just hadn‟t known it then.

“The moment you walked into my office” he sighed, and looked right at her, “not a good
day for either of us, you were absolutely terrified of me, and Havoc‟s utter rage over
your injured condition, his mate so badly wounded, I could barely contain him from
bursting out of me and going on a killing spree. But l believes… that is not how you took
it…your fear was just increasing with every minute you were in the office, in front of us.”

“Why didn‟t you say anything?” Jay-la sighed. She couldn‟t understand it. “Did you not
want us?” she couldn‟t help the bit of pain that was in her words.

“Because you didn‟t react to us at all, you had no idea, did you? Could not scent us
because there was no Kora. And yes I wanted you, Havoc screaming and clawing in my
head, wanting to claim you instantly damn near ripped out of me to mark you on the
spot. He‟s uncontrollable and unpredictable at times.”
“But with your fear levels, I didn‟t let him. I could barely get a word out myself due to
having to put so much effort into containing him… l apologise for that. How it went
down. And I do understand why you were scared of me, after what you heard me say. I
would never actually do that, I was just so pissed off that you kept defying me. Who in
their right mind Jay-la. ignores or blatantly refuses their Alpha‟s order?”

“I didn‟t know why you wanted me to come home? You were the one who ordered me
to leave and never come back, when I got your letter to come home…” she shrugged,
“your order on me was technically still in effect.”

“I don‟t believe that.” he shot right at her, a frown on his face. “The letter quite clearly
requested you to come home and had my name on it, that would have overridden the
previous order, you just didn‟t want to.”

“Okay, you‟re right, I didn‟t want to, there was no way I was going to come home and
present myself with my children in front of you and your Luna, a woman who hated me,
a woman who would never stand for some bastard children threatening her children‟s
right to be Alpha to the pack. That would have put them in direct danger and I will
always protect them, even from you.”

“Jay-la. he frowned at her “I would never hurt them.”

“I did not know that at the time… I had been gone 6 years and had no contact with your
pack, knew nothing of what was going on.”

“You know it now, right?”

“Yes Nathan, I know you would never hurt them. I saw it for myself today,” she had, it
had hurt a little to know that they had never gotten to have that, their whole lives, to
only have it now.

They were probably both to blame. She guessed on that. Jay-la drained the last of her
wine, and leaned back in her chair to just stare at him for a long minute “I have one
more question.”

“Ask”
“Why didn‟t you let Jackson or Stephen just tell me that I was your Mate?

“Would you have believed it? Honestly Jay-la.”

She thought about it for a full minute then shook her head.

“No, I would have thought it was a ploy to get me to bring your children to you,
because this whole time all I thought was that you wanted them. I knew and Kora knew
we were not your Mate, so what other reason would it be?”

She stood up from the table, neither of them had eaten anything, dinner was a bust and
information overload. “I‟m tired Nathan, my head hurts and I need to take all this in
before I can decide on anything.”

He stood and, without warning, stepped over to her and leaned down and k!ssed her.
His mouth was on hers, moving on hers hungrily, his hand moved up into her hair and
pulled hard on her braid, her head was pulled back by the force and she gasp a little
pain and pleasure at the same time.

His tongue was suddenly moving against hers, and his other hand was on her back and
bringing her body hard up against his. Every fibre of her being was suddenly screaming
at her to get closer, to taste him, she k!ssed him back with just as much need as he was
displaying for her. She lost herself instantly, only knowing how right it felt to be in his
arms to have his mouth on hers, to be k!ssed by him, her eyes fluttered closed and her
hands curled into his shirt, she pressed herself against him, she missed him so much,
goddess she wanted him, to be with him, for him to claim her It was all she had ever
wanted.

She had no idea how long he stood there, his mouth on hers, tasting every inch of her,
stealing her breath away from her, his hands gripped in her hair and grinding his body
against hers and she against his in response, only that it was abruptly gone.

He‟d stepped back from her and was now staring at her, his eyes so dark and filled with
desire they were almost black.

She had no idea why he‟d stepped back, why he‟d pulled away.
“I want you Jay-la, don‟t ever doubt that.. You should go now before I mark and mate
you, before you are ready for it. I want you to want it, wholeheartedly want us, so I will
wait.. you need to leave this room before I loose all control.”

Jay-la stood staring at him, she heard what he said, Kora was yelling at her to stay put to
let him mark and mate her and she wondered if Havoc was arguing with Nathan, in the
same way, he could have marked her right here and now, she wouldn‟t have stopped
him.

“Thank you. For knowing I am not really ready.” she nodded slowly and then turned and
walked out of the room in a little bit of a daze.

He appeared to have more self-awareness than she did, way more self-control too. She
was pretty certain that he knew he could have taken what he wanted right there on the
dining room table, marked and mated her at will. His k!ss had been her undoing, she
was never going to reject him, how could she?

He really did want her. She bit her l!p and made her way up to the Alpha Suite. She let
herself in to find all four of their parents sitting there. They all turned and looked at her,
stared at her to be exact, saw her mother raise an eyebrow at her.

She said nothing, just headed for the hallway where the children were sleeping. Still
somewhat out of it, she couldn‟t seem to shake it off, and a little confused to be truthful,
it had been less than a day and she could feel she felt differently about him already.
Their Mate Bond was indeed very strong. In less than a day she knew she would be his,
it was just a matter of when, now she guessed.

Jay-la checked on each of the children. They were all settled in their beds and found an
empty room at the end to go into. She stepped into the bathroom and glanced at
herself in the mirror. It was no wonder they were all staring at her, her hair was a
complete mess from where his hand had been in it.

Somewhere along the line he had pulled the entire braid out, and her hair was hanging
loosely around her face, more than a little messy, her l!pstick was gone and her l!ps
slightly swollen from all the k!ssing and she was very flushed in the face. It was not hard
to tell they had gotten hot and heavy during dinner.
Chapter 39
Nathan POV

Havoc was annoyed with him to say the least, he could have marked and mated her
right there in the private dining room. Had wanted to.

But chosen not to, he really had meant it when he‟d told her he wanted her to
wholeheartedly want them, as much as his wolf was ticked off and annoyed with him, as
much as his desire burned inside of him and made his Alpha blood boil for his mate. He
would wait for her to come to him.

Her reaction to his k!ss, said it all, but the only reason he had k!ssed her was because he
had thought she was going to say something that would cause him serious pain, that
she was still thinking about rejecting him. “before I can decide on anything”.

Those words had caused his heart to ache instantly. It wasn‟t a rejection, but it meant
she still wasn‟t ready to accept him either. He knew dinner had been horrible, talking
through everything, hearing her tell him she‟d felt lonely and unwanted had nearly killed
him, because he knew, it was he who‟d caused her to feel that way.

He had k!ssed her simply out of a need to show her that he wanted her, that he would
always want her, she had k!ssed him back and he had taken advantage of her, of her
need to be wanted and feel loved and cherished.

He‟d known even while he was k!ssing the hell out of her this was not the answer, this
was not the way. And that she would likely regret it afterwards and so had dragged his
hot and aroused body away from hers before he‟d ripped her dress off and took what
he wanted, whether she would regret it afterwards or not.

The way she had stood and stared at him after the k!ss, her green eyes dark and so filled
with desire as much as his were, her hands were still held up in front of her as though
still holding on to him, but she looked very confused, she simply didn‟t understand why
he hadn‟t seduced her all the way, he knew, her desire and his had filled this room, it
was flooding out of the both of them, but he wanted their Marking and Mating to
actually be her choice.
It was clear to her though, that he wanted it, his wolf wanted it. He knew Kora did too,
but Jay-la was an unknown emotional mess on the inside, to him, and he couldn‟t push
her into overload. It might not go down so well.

He watched as she thanked him and then just turned and walked out the room. He
really wanted to go after her and hug her to him. She‟d looked more than a little lost,
very confused and though not upset at all, just kind of out of it, he thought. He hoped
he hadn‟t already broken her emotional state. He walked to the door and watched her
go.

She merely strolled down the hall, he followed her at a distance, her behaviour odd. She
hadn‟t gotten angry with him or glared at him in annoyance for taking liberties with her.
He watched as she turned the corner, and he headed down the hall to follow her. She
strolled seemingly in a daze all the way to the elevator and pressed the button.

Stephen appeared next to him. Nathan had asked him earlier to not be far away in case
she had a complete meltdown and he was needed. He was watching her as well. He‟d
been sitting on one of the couches in the front living area, probably watching TV.

He glanced at Nathan when she stepped into the elevator and shrugged “not getting
anything, boss.”

“Odd to say the least, kind of expected her to beat me actually.”

“What did you do?”

“K!ssed the hell out of her:” he answered honestly. “Where do you think she‟s going?”

Stephen chuckled “Your suite, I imagine, isn‟t that where the pups are?”

“Mm, they are he nodded, “Do you think l broke her?”

“No, I‟ve seen broken, I think she is stunned maybe.”

“But you didn‟t get any distress off of her, anger, anything.”
“Nothing boss, kind of like she‟s not really there, autopilot mode I‟m guessing. Did you
talk it out, or did you spend the whole time attached at the l!ps?”

“We talked, but I don‟t know, l got this weird feeling, not a good feeling, and when she
stood to leave the room I just got up and k!ssed her.”

“That‟s the aftermath of a k!ss?” Stephen stared at him, then laughed at him. “Boss, you
know you can‟t deprive the brain of Oxygen or it stops working.” Nathan turned his eyes
on his Gamma and punched him.

“ldiot.”

“What? How long did you steal her breath away from her for?”

“I don‟t know‟ Nathan shrugged till I realised I was about to mate and mark her I guess.”

“Ah, so a long time boss.” Stephen walked away. “Don‟t worry about it, I‟m sure she is
fine, she certainly isn‟t distressed about it, boss. Perhaps just leave her for now and try
again tomorrow.”

“Yeah” he nodded, it had been an emotional roll-a-coaster today, though for him in a
good way, but he was still tired. He wandered into his office and sat down to give her a
chance to settle down for the night. He rested his head on the back of the couch and
stared blankly at the ceiling.

A smile touched his face as he thought about her and their children. He couldn‟t get the
picture of her sitting on the bed in Nate‟s room with all three of them staring at Havoc
out of his mind, his family right there in his Suite.

„Soon‟ Havoc huffed at him.

Hopefully buddy, let‟s just give her time she needs to adjust, hey, its not even been a
day.

„Kora‟ he whined
I know you want to be with her, it will happen, she is your Mate and you know she is not
going anywhere!

“What did you do to the girl?” his mother‟s voice popped into his head via the Mind-
link.

“Nothing, just k!ssed her.”

“You sure, son?”

“Positive, mother.”

“Hmm, looked like you had your way with her without marking her.”

“I did no such thing, sent her away before lI lost control. How is she?”

“Quiet, how was she when she left you?”

Nathan really didn‟t like that turn of phrase and neither did Havoc either “Jay-la was
quiet when she left the dining room. So she is there then.”

“Checked on the children and turned herself in for the night. We are all headed off now.
Don‟t be disheartened, son, it‟s not even been a day.”

“I know. I‟m not‟ and he wasn‟t.” He knew it was going to take time, he also knew that
Havoc would growl and be annoyed and angry with him for taking so long, but he
would do it the right way.

He didn‟t want to Mark and Mate her only to have turn around and accuse him of
forcing her into it, and he knew Havoc didn‟t either.

“We can sneak in and cuddle her when she sleeps, sneak out before she wakes up‟
Havoc chortled. When on earth did you become so cheeky and naughty?”

Nathan laughed to himself. It wasn‟t a bad idea, he had no idea if he could sneak into
her room without her scenting him and waking her.
An interesting thought though.

We used to be, played with Kora lots when she was younger.

Nathan thought on that one, and yes, he supposed Havoc would always enjoy chasing
Kora around the pack, hunting her and pouncing on her when they found her, him
bowling her over when she was in a full run trying to out run him and they would end
up tumbling over each other until Havoc was standing directly above her tiny wolf, she
between his front paws, lying on the ground all submissive, it was very dominant of him
as he would stare down at her with that you can‟t outrun me look, and then playfully
swat her with his paw, to get her up and moving again, to give her a head start for
another chase.

„sat on her more than once! Havoc chortled at him, „she was so tiny, easy to dominate.‟

„Not so little now:‟ Nathan mused.

„Ah but, she still enjoyed me pouncing on her and dominating her.‟ there was pride in
his voice. He was very happy about mating his Mate.

Nathan stood, they would head for their suite, he would like to be close to her and the
children, it was the first time they would be all staying in the Alpha Suite, their new
home. Finally, he had his family under his roof, though still not his Luna in his bed, but
he would get that too, just a matter of time.

He took the stairs, a slow easy walk up to the top floor, and pushed through the doors
to his suite. He didn‟t want her to think he was stalking her, so he didn‟t check on the
children. He knew they were alright.

Hit the shower and crawled into his bed naked, as he always did, hated wearing clothes
to bed, looked at the empty pillow next to him and sighed. Soon. He thought he would
be able to wake up and she would be right there sleeping next to him, right there for
him to reach out and touch, right there to wake up first thing in the morning and…
Nope, I can‟t think that one through with her only down the hall.

„Sneak down to her, cuddle her‟, he heard Havoc remind him playfully. Nathan liked this
side of his beast.
He had been worried that her anger and his anger were going to be a problem, that
they might feed off of each other and get worse, but it seemed the Mate Bond was
doing as it was supposed to, evening out each other‟s flaws.

Maybe tomorrow, let‟s give her space tonight, okay? Just one night in the alpha suite
where she can learn we won‟t mate and mark her unwittingly during the night, make her
feel safe, secure and okay with being in our suite Havoc huffed but didn‟t argue.

Chapter 40
Jay-la POV

Showered and lying in the bed, na*ked, due to the fact she had no clothes here in the
room to change into, she stared up at the ceiling. She had been awake for hours, unable
to get any sleep, her mind was unable to switch off. And Kora was of no help to her, all
she could think about was her Mate and wanting to be with him.

„Go to him,‟ was all she‟d been harping on for nearly an hour now.

„Not ready.‟

Bullshit. Kora had snorted at her, almost angry with her, you wanted him earlier.‟

Yes, I know, but that was different. Caught off guard.

Kora snorted at her in annoyance. You want him. Kora sighed almost softly. She was
lying in Jay-la‟s mind, head on her paws and tail around her. You remember when he
used to k!ss you. You‟re whole body melted into him.

„Enough Kora.‟

It was like that, but today is more intense. You want him, need him. she whispered to
her.

Kora… Jay-la was practically begging her to stop it, her wolf was trying to rile her up and
she knew it. She rolled over on the bed and buried her face into the pillow.
„The way his hands would slide over you, touch you, softly at first,‟ she was purring softly
now „his mouth k!ssing your neck.

Jay-la growled at her own wolf. She didn‟t need to be reminded of what it was like to be
in his arms, to have him touch her everywhere, taste every inch of her. Bite her gently
and then roughly. She flipped over on the bed and huffed herself.

„Kora let it go,‟ she muttered.

„The way he‟d pull you towards him and lick all the way up your spine before lacing his
fingers into yours while sliding his huge bard c0ck against you teasing you when he
knew what you really wanted‟ Kora was all hind quarters up inside Jay-la‟s mind, as
though she could actually feel it.

„Enough please‟ Jay-la begged her, quietly biting her l!p.

„It‟ll never be enough, Kora whispered softly, „his hand between your legs, touching you,
stroking you filling you with pleasure, you remember, don‟t you the feeling, how hot you
got, how w*et you would be. How wanton he made you.

Goddess help me. Jay-la sent up a silent prayer. She did remember and was at this very
minute turned on by the memory her wolf was pushing at her. With her eyes closed,
goddess she could picture it so clearly, the way he would look down at her with those
desire filled deep dark blue eyes of his, they way she would drown in them, loved
looking up into them knowing he wanted her, needed her, was unable to look away
from him even when she was so close to org*sm he loved to watch her c*um.

He‟d told her often, sometimes had even demanded her not to look away from him, as
he‟d pleasured her, his long rough fingers stroking her most sensitive places until she
was arched up and crying out his name.

Jay-la m0aned into her room, her hand slipping down her body, touching herself the
way she knew he would, imagining her hand was his hand. „Go to him. Kora whispered
into her mind as Jay-la felt the first ripples of pleasure roll through her body as she
touched herself, sliding a finger between the folds of her now w*et p**ssy and stroking
her own cl!t.
„Don‟t even know if he‟s in his room,‟ she whispered back to Kora.

„Mind-link him.‟

„Goddess no, he‟ll know instantly I‟m turned on.‟ Oh goddess, she needed release, she
claimed an image in her mind of him, his hand between her thighs, his fingers thrusting
in and out of her and allowed herself to believe her hand was his, until she was
cu**mming herself, bit down hard on the cry of pleasure that was trying to escape her,
he would likely hear it if she was to loud Kerá chortled „good we want him to.‟

No… Jay-la could taste blo0d she‟d had to bite down hard to keep from calling out his
name.

„Go to him.‟

„If he‟s not there?‟ She feared she would not have the courage to go to his bed again if
she went and he wasn‟t there.

„I sense my mate nearby, he is there. Kora whispered to her „go to him.

Jay-la sat up in the bed. Her body ached for him, she did want to go to him, but what if
he wasn‟t there? What if she went and found his bed empty? What then? She was biting
her l!p nervously.

„Never nervous before, not even your first time with him. Why now?‟ Kora asked.

„Different now. What if it!‟s not the same? She worried.

Kora snorted at her and shot the image of her and him k!ssing in the private dining
room into her mind. Jay-la m0aned as she recalled the hungriness, the wanton need.
Goddess the way she could feel his hard erection pressed against her, how she‟d not
been able to stop herself from moving herself against it.

She tossed the covers back and got out of bed, slipped from her room and quietly
walked down the hallway and into the living area. Before she changed her mind, and
talked herself out of it.
She was completely na*ked and had no idea if he was even in his room, though his
scent was here and quite strong. That could just be because it was his room. She tipped
across the living area and stood by his bedroom door „Go to him‟. Kora whispered in her
mind „you want him, we want him. He wants you, they want us.‟

She reached out and, taking a deep breath, opened his door and stepped into his
bedroom quietly. Closed the door softly behind her, there he was lying in his bed,
sleeping on his stomach, his face turned away from her, the duvet only covering him to
his wa!st.

She could see him perfectly clearly with her wolfs sight. Kora was purring softly inside
her mind. He‟s yours, Jay-la, go claim him.‟

Goddess he was perfect, all those muscles, even in his relaxed state of sleep, were a turn
on. She took a step towards his bed, took another and then his head turned and his
eyes were on her. She knew he could see her, his sight perfect even in the dark.

She bit her l!p, her heart rate quickened, she could smell her own arousal, from a few
minutes ago it still lingered on her quite strongly, she could tell he could too, his nostrils
were flared as he lay there breathing in deeply, smeling her.

He pushed himself up with his arms, never took his eyes off of hers, she watched as all
his muscles rippled while he moved, her breath quickened, she wanted him so much,
had missed him so much, felt the heat of desire pool between her thighs, felt tears
welling in her eyes, this was all she had wanted her whole life, to be his, and now here it
was, she was his, he was hers.

She watched from midway across the room as he flicked the duvet away from his na*ked
body, could see he was already fully aroused and ready for her. The smell of her arousal
would likely have been what had woken him.

Without a word held out his arms to her, she couldn‟t stop herself, ran across to the bed
and climbed in, reached out for him and pressed her l!ps to his, k!ssed him with
everything she had, sliding her arms around his neck, pressing her whole body against
his, slid herself directly underneath him, pulling at him to feel his hard body against
hers.
His mouth was devouring hers, she felt him shift completely on top of her and press her
down on to the mattress, a hand already pulling at her thigh, so he could have her, take
what the goddess had gifted to him, his mouth moved from hers, his deep blue eyes
locked on hers, “Mine.” he growled right at her, both he and Havoc together, and she
growled it right back “Mine.” her and Kora united in accepting their Mates completely.

His mouth smashed down on to hers and she felt him thrust bard into her, all the way in,
deep and hard, dominating, claiming her completely, she thrust up to meet him, so
ready for him, wanted nothing more than to be Mated and Marked by h!p. He thrust his
hard c0ck in and out of her slowly, firmly, all the way in deep as he could go and Jay-la
arched up to him, wanting him to fill her completely.

It was like nothing she‟d felt before with him, with every movement of his body she felt
electricity shooting through her, her gasps of pleasure came quickly, as he started to
move quicker, she matched him, her need to have him increasing like never before, her
nails were scratching down his back, her heels pushing hard into the mattress beneath
her to aid in her getting what she wanted.

His mouth moved from hers to her neck, felt hot burning k!sses make there way down
her neck to her mark spot, his l!ps on her mark spot. Oh goddess, she was cu**mming
for him, so quickly, never ever this quickly before. She cried out in pleasure as he sucked
deeply and k!ssed her mark spot over and over again, the pleasure of his mouth there,
was almost too much.

He was thrusting furiously in and out of her now, mating her with everything he had,
claiming her utterly she was his. Pain ripped through her as his fangs plunged deep into
the tender skin of her mark spot, it was intensely hot and felt as though she was being
burned by his venom, but it faded quickly away.

Her org**sm suddenly intensified and she was desperately clutching at him, thrusting up
at him as hard as she could, she was cu*mming, a scream of pleasure burst from her as
he spilled his seed deep inside of her, his mouth moved over her mark spot sealing it,
everyone would know she belonged to him now.

His body moved gently with hers, his h!ps rocking against hers letting her org**sm
completely roll through her, goddess he knew everything about her, just what she
needed, how to bring her down from her high. She grabbed a fist full of his hair and
brought his mouth to hers, k!ssed him long and deep. She could feel him already
growing hard again inside of her, goddess she loved this man, how easily she could turn
him on. She too wanted him again.

Then she was pushing at his ch3st, to try and shove him over, “my turn” she whispered
to him, he allowed her to roll him over, grabbing onto her a*ss to keep them still joined.
She pushed him down and sat up, looking down at him as she started to ride him, he
was smiling up at her “your turn” he agreed.

Jay-la pushed his hands away from her body when he tried to touch her, grabbed him
by his wrists and used all her wolf strength to pin him down, hold him down while she
k!ssed him and rode him hard and fast.

He wanted to touch her, strained at her tight grip, she smiled down at him, was much
stronger than before, he didn‟t want her dominating him and she liked it, her last act of
defiance, holding him down and getting what she wanted from him.

A growl came from him and she was abruptly overpowered by him, havoc lending his
strength. He sat them up, pushing her hands behind her back. He grabbed both her
wrists in one hand and held them there. His other hand had a fist full of her hair and
tugged her head back, his mouth claimed hers.

“Defiant to the end, I see,” he growled playfully.

“Always.” she teased him, pulled her arms free of his hold, wrapped them around his
neck and k!ssed him again. She would never tire of k!ssing this man. His hands were on
her br*easts ca*ressing them. He was thrusting up and into her and she down onto him.

“Oh goddess I‟m cu**mming” she m0aned against his neck, felt a hand slip around her
wa!st and on to her h!p, while the other slid up her back and curled over her shoulder,
his fingers sliding right over her mark spot, she gasp as jolts of pleasure erupted from
his touch, he was lifting her up and slamming her down on him hard and fast and she
could feel her org**sm taking over, hear the screams peeling from her one after the
other.

She was desperately clinging to him as her body strained and pulsed in waves of
pleasure around his hardened c0ck inside of her, felt her fangs elongate, and as she
clamped around him with all she had her org**sm reaching its peek, slammed her fangs
into his neck, his blo0d filled her mouth, it was sweet and metallic to taste, she heard
him groan in pain, before pleasure took over, felt him hold her h!ps down hard on him
as he c*um inside of her as she sealed his mark spot, with soft k!sses and licks of her
tongue.

Felt Kora howl with happiness, and heard Havoc howl right back at her, as the
connection between their two wolves was solidified, tears burned in her eyes as she felt
through the bond, just how much he did love her, did want her.

They spilled down her cheeks and she burst into tears and buried her face into his neck
as sobs wracked her body.

“Sweetheart its okay,” he whispered to her softly. She knew he could feel what she was
feeling, her turbulent emotions were unchecked, and probably a little out of control, but
she was just really happy and couldn‟t contain them right that minute. Her Alpha loved
her and that was all she had ever wanted.

She could feel his hands moving gently up and down her back trying to soothe her. Had
no idea how long she sat there with him unable to gain control of herself or her
emotions. “I‟m sorry,‟ she murmured sometime later.

“Don‟t you ever be sorry for loving me the way you do.” His voice was a little rough, he
shifted them to lie down on the bed, gently withdrew himself from her, she whimpered a
little, and he chuckled softly “want to go again huh?”

Jay-la buried her face into his ch3st but smiled at the same time and couldn‟t help it.
She whacked him playfully on the shoulder but knew he was right, she wanted to spend
the rest of the night with him, touching him, teasing him, pleasing him and being
pleased by him.

She knew she would only have to ask. Probably wouldn‟t have to ask at all, his hand was
already stroking her outer thigh, he was going to be insatiable and, to be honest, she
wanted that.

Chapter 41
Nathan POV

He lay on his side propped up on an elbow, watching her sleep, a smile on his l!ps, Jay-
la right where she should be, her hair was all messy from him grabbing at it all night and
all morning, for that matter, she‟d never be allowed to cut it off.

Her mark spot was right there for him to see, a pretty silver filigree now adorned the
soft skin just below the crook of her neck. He loved just looking at it, refrained from
touching it, though he wanted to, he knew it would wake her from her sleep and set off
her arousal as well, he‟d tormented her with it plenty already. He internally chuckled to
himself.

He‟d been watching her for an hour now, unable to move away, he didn‟t want her to
wake up alone, he wanted to see those big green eyes of hers open and he to be the
first thing she see‟s even if it took all day. He wasn‟t moving out of this bed for anything.

He had already informed his parents and his Alpha Unit, to darned happy to be able to
keep it to himself, his mother had practically screamed down the link in joy and started
yelling about getting Vera so they could start working on the Luna ceremony which
would be on the next full moon just 10 days away, then the link had been severed and
he could well imagine she was already linking Vera, they‟d always gotten along as had
both of their fathers, it seemed things were going to go back to the way they had
before he had screwed everything up.

His alpha unit had not been all that surprised. Jackson simply told him to take the day
boss, a knowingly playful tone in his voice.

Nathan understood his meaning, and he was doing just that, taking the day to be with
her.

His eyes moved over her body, it was uncovered from the waist up, she was lying flat on
her stomach, her face turned towards him, one hand up under the pillow, the other
stretched out down the bed.

She‟d fallen asleep with him on top of her, begged him to stay there, said she loved the
feel of his weight on her body. And how could he deny her anything when she used the
word loves and him in the same sentence, he‟d slipped off of her when she‟d nodded off
to sleep.

There were many tiny bite marks down her back, he knew there were even more across
her chest and abdomen, a grin formed on his face, inside of her thighs too. Every little
love bite he‟d left had elicited moans of pleasure from her, and he‟d wanted to hear
more with the release of his mouth and her moan dying off. He‟d found another place
to tease and please her.

He watched her green eyes slowly open, he was still grinning and he knew it, couldn‟t
help it. “Afternoon sweetheart,” his voice dropped to that deep se*xy tone he knew
would turn her on.

Watched as she bit her l!p and stared at him, then turned her face and buried it into the
pillow, with a little shake of her head, almost as if she was shy and embarrassed. “Awe
you went all shy have you?” he teased her gently.

“Go away,” she muttered into her pillow. Her tone was too light.

He laughed, he knew she didn‟t mean it. She was just grumpy first thing in the morning
or when waking up, he recalled that much. “nope. and he reached out and poked her
right between her last two ribs, knowing she was ticklish there.

She swatted at him, her face still buried in the pillow. He dodged her easily. ” Come now
sweetheart, swatting at me like that might get your Mate all frisky again.”

He got the desired response. Her eyes moved back to him, at the word Mate. He winked
right at her and then pointed to his mark spot. Her eyes moved to it and she actually
blushed, goddess well look at that he thought, he could still make her blush. “Come
here,” he growled.

She shook her head. “No, no, no. you‟ve had enough.

“Never,” he growled again and yanked her across the bed to hug her to his chest.
She squealed and struggled against him, but she was no match for him. She‟d learned
that last night, so had Kora when Havoc had decided it was his turn to mate his mate in
human form.

Poor wolf had, had no chance, even though she had fought for dominance Havoc was
much stronger and their rough s*x play had been something to sit back and watch. Even
Jay-la was a little shocked by their behaviour, even more so, when Kora had receded to
the back of her mind but Havoc had not, was staring right down at her, growling „Mine‟
at her.

She‟d had to persuade him to relinquish control back to Nathan. His wolf wanted to
mate her too, it seemed.

Nathan had pulled him away with not a no, but a later buddy. To his surprise, so had
Jay-la. They could talk about that another time. It wasn‟t all that usual for wolves in
human form to mate a human counterpart to their actual Mate, but clearly his was
interested.

Nathan wondered if it was Havoc wanting to dominate her or if he too felt the need to
claim not just Kora but Jay-la as well. Currently, Havoc was settled and sleeping. They
could discuss it later.

Her squirming to get away was only increasing his interest in her, and he held on that
little bit tighter to elicit more fight from her. She abruptly, stilled when she realised what
was going on and found his fully erect c0ck against her abdomen. “You bastard,” she
halfheartedly yelled at him and struck him quite hard on his back.

He started to laugh and couldn‟t stop, rolled them over.

She was on top of him and grinned right up at her “What, you started it. Moving and
grinding yourself all over me, what did think was gonna happen?”

She pushed up and climbed off of him. He let her go. Yes, he was still interested and
having his way with her, but he was pretty sure she actually did need rest and recovery
time. She flicked the sheet over him and muttered “Down boy.” Which only made him
laugh again “Where are the children?” she asked.
“With my parents playing with Halley,” he answered and rolled back onto his side. To
watch her, she was sitting completely naked in front of him. He liked it. She‟d never
been one to be shy about her body, or not around him anyway.

“You want to go shower and get some food? You must be hungry after all your
seduction of me last night.”

Her eyes widened as he knew they would, she technically was responsible for him
mating the hell out of her, she‟d come in here all hot and bothered, smelling so strongly
of arousal, and then climbed underneath him and he was never going to let her forget it.
Her willpower is tiny. His obviously much stronger, or at least that was how he was
going to tease her from now on.

There was suddenly a pillow banged into his face, and the hits kept coming, til he gave
up defending himself and threw himself at her, pinned her down “What sweetheart, did
you forget you came in here to me…already?‟ he feigned utter shock with the last word.

“Your and a*ss,” she grumbled, but still smiled.

“Mm I know, you used to say that to me all the time. Guess not much has changed
then.” he climbed up off of her and yanked her from the bed. “Come on shower, we got
stuff that still needs fixing, you know.”

“What?”

He turned the shower on and stepped in when it was to his liking, pulled her in and took
great pleasure in washing her from head to toe, touching her everywhere. It was not a
quick shower in the end, and she was whacking him, telling him to stop touching her,
trying to get away from him why she was trying to dry off. Ah, she was so much fun to
play with. Their bond was so strong. He could feel it.

They were going to be just fine. Once all the human world stuff was cleaned up, he knew
she had things to sort out back in the city, a job to quit, a boyfriend to dump. She could
do those both over the phone though, and an apartment to clean out and pack up,
though he could have people do that last part.

Probably would.
He wondered how she‟d feel about him tagging along for all of that. If she insisted on
doing it in person, he was not likely to allow her to go all the way across the country
without him ever again. He could well imagine both the looks on those men‟s faces
when he was suddenly by her side and completely unexpectedly announced as her
fiance in the human world.

Firstly, though she had to drop the charges against him, so he could go with her to close
out her human world life and he would be going with her, he was not leaving her alone
for a single second with either Eric Stanton or Timothy Bolton, for that matter, not that
he thought she would do anything to hurt him, he just didn‟t want any un-mated male
wolves near her, nor unmarried human males for that matter.

They might come to blows today over it, but hehehe she was his now and she had to
deal with him and his temper and dominant possessive tendencies. He thought it was
going to be fun, he doubted she was going to think that, but let‟s see her be defiant
now.

The conversation about closing out her human life was going as he expected. She was
currently standing in his office with her hands on her h!ps glaring at him. He‟d simply
informed her that she could end everything and close it all out with a few phone calls or
that he would be tagging along with her wherever she went, and this had put her into
fight mode.

“You don‟t trust me” she accused him.

“Yes, I do. I just am not willing to let you out of my sight this very minute, I just got you,”
he told her without lying.

His whole unit was sitting in his office watching the two of them go head to head and
he didn‟t actually care, it was kind of like old times, the 5 of them hanging out together.

“That is ridiculous. What! You think l am going to run off, do you? Like l could, Kora
would drag my a*ss back here.”

He was staring at her now, he didn‟t like the way she had said that. Implying she was
only here because of Kora. He put down the pen he had been using and leaned back in
his chair to look at her. She was wearing an outfit he‟d bought for her, black jeans that
buttoned to the h!p and a green long-sleeve sweater that stopped at her waist.

Her lower abdomen was on display, very distracting, she had a whole wardrobe full of
clothes in their suite which had surprised her, including the gown he had picked out and
wanted her to wear to her Luna ceremony. She‟d even liked it. A nice deep blue
mermaid-style dress with crystals embedded in it to make it look like the night sky.

It was actually the same color as his eyes. He didn‟t think she would run off at all, but
her choice of words irked him anyway. “Say that again!” he stated softly, there was a
slight edge to his voice, his annoyance for all to hear.

He watched her think about what she had said, a hand came up. Her fingers were
moving as she was running the words through her mind. He watched it dawn on her,
acknowledged what she had implied right here in front of him and his unit, and shook
her head slowly “poor choice of words,” she agreed.

“Agreed. You have two choices Jay-la. Personally I like choice l. You sit in your office
here in the pack.” he pointed to a door off to his right on the other side of the room
“and call Eric and resign from your job.

You call Timothy and end your relationship with him. I don‟t care what you tell him to be
honest, just make it clear to him it‟s over. And you call the FEDs and speak with them
and drop the charges against me. If you choose option 2, I will be going with you for
every aspect of your departure from the human world, including that very
uncomfortable conversation you will have to have with Timothy about me while I am
standing right next to you, “I can assure you Havoc will be all dominant and his hands
will be on you to make the point loud and clear as to who you belong to. It will not be
something I will be able to control.”

“You‟re impossible,” she snapped at him.

“l could be yes, but for once you will do as I tell you, yes?” He threw the question at her
to see if she was going to continue to defy him at every turn.

She was standing there staring at him, hadn‟t answered the question, but her green eyes
were all defiant. He heard all three of his friends burst out laughing, and frowned at
them. “Still got a defiant mate,” Jackson laughed at him. “Life surely is about to get
interesting around here boss.”

“Jay-la, choice l or 2.”

Her jaw was ticking away and her fists were balled at her sides. He was not the least bit
surprised to sense anger from her, for the past 6 years she had been answerable only to
herself, and her wolf. But now she was Mated to her Alpha and accountable for all her
actions to him, he would never truly punish her in anyway, and that wasn‟t fun for either
of them.

He did like her defiance in a small way, her stubbornness and was happy to play with her
even if she didn‟t know that was what he was doing. Pushing her buttons was going to
be fun, which is what he was doing right that minute, she just hadn‟t figured it out yet.

“I‟ll take option 1 then, shall I?” she snapped at him and stomped off to her Luna‟s office.

He smiled to himself when she banged the door shut.

Life was indeed about to get interesting and he couldn‟t wait.

The End

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